Seeing is believing
by silverfang493
Summary: Every Sunday Matthew and I would follow my mom around as she shopped. One of her friends always came along. Sometimes it bugged me, but I never said anything. My mother collected shot glasses. Of course I was ok those days, because I had Matthew for company. Matthew who was my best friend in the whole world, maybe my only friend at eight years old. My imaginary friend.
1. How it began

**I'm actually really nervous about posting this story. Please don't kill me.**

(Maddy's P.O.V)

Matthew and I always spent Sunday afternoons following my mother around as she shopped for... well whatever she felt like shopping for that day. Shoes, clothes, house supplies, it didn't matter. If you could buy it, my mother shopped for it. My mother was always working and I was trying my hardest to get her approval, which mostly meant doing well in school and not getting in trouble, so we didn't get to spend much time together. On Sundays we would go shopping, first the grocery store for food and stuff, then wherever else mom felt like going. Then we would end up going to Dairy Queen or something.

I didn't have very many friends at school. Most of them were more acquaintances than friends, but I didn't mind. I had Matthew to talk to, so I didn't try very hard to befriend the kids at school. Matthew was probably my only friend at that age. _My imaginary friend. _

That day, mom had decided to go to a clothes store after grocery shopping. I didn't remember the name of it, but I'd ended up being forced to get more shirts because mine were apparently getting too small. I think my mom just wanted me to get more shirts because I tended to wear the same ones over and over again. I just didn't like wearing the fancier, frilly ones. It was school, not a party.

I dipped my spoon into my sundae with the eagerness any eight year old would have in that situation. I looked up at Matthew then back to my mom as she took a sip of her smoothie. Suddenly, her eyes widened and she smiled. "I'll be right back." she said and stood up, walking away

I turned to watch her and sighed when I saw one of her friends by the door. _Just great. They're probably going to come over and pinch my cheeks. _I turned back to Matthew, who was watching my mother carefully. I sighed and went back to my ice cream, thinking about the day I met Matthew.

_-flashback-_

_I ran through the corn maze, tears threatening to spill from my eyes. Mom had gone ahead while I was searching for leaves and left me alone. I turned a corner and found myself at a dead end. Another dead end. _

_I gave up. Collapsing on the ground, I covered my face with my hands and sobbed. Tears dripped down my cheeks and I curled into a ball on the ground. I buried my face in the sleeves of my hoodie, despair starting to creep into my head. _

_Suddenly, I felt a hand touch my head and I looked up. _

_A guy with blond hair, violet eyes and black rimmed glasses looked down at me, concern shining in his eyes. A strange curl dangled over his face and he held a little polar bear in his arms. _

"_Who are you?" I asked_

_He flinched and sighed. "I'm Ca- Matthew. Are you ok?"_

_I sat up and stared at him. "My mom left me in here. She didn't mean to though. I know she didn't."_

_He smiled and stood up. "Well maybe we should get you out of here, eh? She's probably worried about you." He held out his hand and I took it._

_I stood up and rubbed my face with my free hand. My eyes itched and there were corn husks in my hair, but I ignored them. I looked up at Matthew as we walked. He was wearing a tan coat, pants, goggles and dark brown boots. _

"_Matthew?" I said quietly_

_He looked at me. "Yes?"_

"_Do you know the way out or are you just guessing?" _

_He chuckled. "We'll be fine."_

"_That's not what I asked." I muttered_

_He didn't respond. I didn't mind though, I'd always prefered silence over anything. We walked, not saying anything. Finally, I heard more voices and looked up._

_We exited the maze and I searched through the crowds for my mom. I finally saw her and took a step in her direction. I stopped and turned around. "Matthew?"_

_He knelt down to my level and looked at me. "Hm?"_

"_Are you going to leave?" I stared at him, waiting for his answer_

_He blinked. "Do you want me to leave?"_

_I gripped his hand tighter and shook my head._

_He smiled. "It looks like I'm staying a while."_

_-end of flashback-_

A hand waved in front of my face and I blinked, coming out my trance. "Hm?"

Matthew chuckled. "Thinking deeply over there?"

I nodded and put a spoonful of ice cream in my mouth.

He took a bite of his ice cream and stayed silent for a minute, then swallowed and looked at me. "What about?"

"The day we met." I replied, taking another bite of my ice cream

He made a face and chuckled. "Getting sentimental?"

I stuck my tongue out at him and looked down to see that my sundae had disappeared. Like it always did. I exhaled slowly and pushed the cup away. I snuggled closer to Matthew. "Want to know something?" I asked "I don't know how to feel about it."

"What?" he asked

"My mom said she was going to let me pick out the name for... my sister."

"That's great." Matthew said "What's wrong with that?"

"My mom said it's a big responsibility." I explained "I don't want to mess it up. What if they end of hating the name I pick?"

He smiled at me reassuringly. "How could you mess it up? You're so good with stuff like this."

I sighed and looked at my lap. "I'm just not sure how to feel about it. I'm still getting used to the idea of having a younger sibling and now they want me to pick out the name."

He nodded. "I understand. I just don't think you should be so worried."

I sighed. "New topic. Guess what Thursday is."

Matthew tapped his chin a few times. "No idea."

"C'mon. You know perfectly well. You _know, _Matthew. This isn't funny."

"Valentine's Day?"

"Stop it!" I told him, gently kicking him under the table. He grinned. "You know what Thursday is. You have to. It's my birthday!"

"Oh yeah. Wow, you're getting _old, _Maddy."

I nodded. "I think mom's planning a party."

"Hmm," Matthew said

"I don't care about a party, really. What I really want is a cat."

He smiled. "You have a cat already."

"Well, I know, but I want another one."

Matthew nodded.

"Cat got your-" I started to say but then stopped mid sentence.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my mom and her friend walking over. In a minute, they would be standing over the table, hustling me off. This Sunday was coming to a close.

"Here she comes, Matthew," I whispered "Look invisible."


	2. Mother and daughter even if we're not

***nervous laugh* yay, second chapter. Please don't kill me. To the reviews!**

**pinkittwice54: I'm not sure how to respond to that.**

**To the story!**

(Maddy's P.O.V)

Mom strode toward the table as if she owned the ice cream store. No one would believe the woman with the perfect make-up, shiny perfect hair and dressy outfit was in anyway related to the pudgy eight-year-old with frizzy hair and chocolate sauce on one cheek. But there we were. Mother and daughter.

"Sweetheart..." she almost always called me that, as if it were my real name. Well that or "Maddy Mac." I hated both. "Must you always order two sundaes? We talked about your weight..."

"I'm only eight years old. Can't I just promise to be an anorexic later?"

Mom's friend laughed, her face turning red and tears falling from her eyes. Matthew smiled slightly, but looked at the table.

"Don't be precocious with me, sweetheart." she turned to her friend "She reads far too many books."

_Yeah, I'm terrible that way._

Mom's friend laughed. "I remember when she was little..."

I groaned. _Great, another friend who I haven't seen since I was like, two, but I'm expected to remember anyway._

Mom turned back to me. "We'll discuss your eating habits later. At home. In private."

"Anyway," I told her "the second one isn't even mine. Matthew ordered it."

"Ah, yes," mom said, sounding bored "Matthew, the amazing, ever- present imaginary friend." she addressed the seat next to me "Hello, Matthew. How are you today?"

"H-hello Jessica." Matthew said, knowing she couldn't see or hear him. "I'm just peachy, thanks."

All of a sudden I felt mom's friend pinch my cheek.

"Hey!" I protested

"You're cheeks are so fun to poke." she giggled, pinching them again

I winced and pulled away from her, scooting closer to Matthew.

Mom took a napkin, dipped it in my water glass and wiped the chocolate sauce off my cheek. "That was rude."

I groaned and batted at her hands. "I can wash my face on my own. I'm not three years old."

Her nostrils flared, which was actually kind of funny to see. "Time to go home." She spun on her four-inch heels and headed for the exit, her friend close behind her. How she managed to spin in four-inch heels while seven months pregnant, I couldn't figure out. Yet another skill I'd probably never acquire.

Matthew and I both got up. He leaned down and kissed my head. "See you tomorrow. Miss you already."

"Miss you already too." I looked ahead and saw my mother's slim leg disappearing through the door.

She glanced back. "Maddy Mac, let's go!"

I ran to catch up.

I was always doing that.

**Sorry this chapter was kinda short. I was having problems writing. **


	3. hard questions and even harder answers

**I hate getting writer's block. I have it for two other stories and I hate it. I can't write, but there's nothing else to do. To the reviews!**

**JayandNya4evr: OC. *throws ice cream at you* **

**The Monster inside of Me: They don't remember that part of their lives... Maybe... I don't know. *throws cake at you* Where'd you get the idea for your username?**

**pinkittwice54: What? *throws chocolate at you***

**To the story!**

(Matthew's P.O.V)

_Poor, poor Maddy! Poor little girl! How am I going to explain the situation to her? _I shoved my hands in my pockets and stood outside her apartment. Lately, she'd been forced to walk to school because her mother slept in so late. Kuma sat at my feet, his eyes trained on the door.

I checked my phone. _7:28_ Maddy would be out at 7:30. She tried not to keep people waiting. _She can be such a sweet girl without trying to. _I shuffled my feet, thinking about something Maddy had said when she was five. Her mom had been going on a business trip for two weeks. I'd been concerned about how she would cope, but she'd shrugged it off and said "Love means you can never be apart."

I knew I'd never forget that- out of a five year-olds mouth and brain. She hadn't even been able to read at five! Then she walked out, but I pretended not to see her, as always.

"Gotcha!" she said, wrapping her arms around my waist

"Whoa! You're sneakier than a pickpocket!" I teased, starting down the sidewalk

She grinned and hitched her backpack over her shoulder. "I didn't exactly sneak up. You were lost somewhere interesting in your thoughts."

As soon as we were out of sight of the apartment building, she took my hand. I smiled, then zipped her backpack up the rest of the way. "I'm surprised you haven't lost anything important yet."

She shrugged. "At the moment, there's nothing important in my backpack."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course there isn't. How could I forget? You never have homework."

Another shrug. "It's not my fault the kids in my class mess around and I do my work. I don't see the point in messing around if you have time to get the assignment done."

I smiled again. "So what did the bear pack you for lunch?" 'the bear' was the nickname she'd given to her stepfather because he had so much facial hair

She made a face and her tongue out at me. "I packed my own lunch, actually."

"Well then, what did _you _pack?"

"A peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I _wanted _to take the leftover pancakes but my mom said they weren't a healthy lunch, so I couldn't."

I rolled my eyes. "You're mom will probably just eat the pancakes while you're at school."

She sighed. "I know, but the cafeteria ladies been yelling at kids who bring "unhealthy" lunches lately." She lifted her free hand and made air quotes as she talked.

I chuckled. "It's not like they can do anything about it." Soon -too soon- we were standing in front of the school. Kids ran back and forth, their hands waving at departing parents and at approaching friends.

"Tomorrow's the big day." Maddy said quietly, looking at her feet "We have to go to that play my mom got tickets to first. And you're invited, of course."

I chuckled. "Ok. You can help me pick out clothes so that I don't embarrass you."

She looked up at me, her eyes suddenly wide and serious. "You could _never _embarrass me, Matthew."

The school bell sounded.

"Ok. You'd better go in now. Behave and tell that boy you've been staring at how you feel."

Her eyes narrowed. "That's not funny, Matthew. You know how hard it is for me to talk to him."

I smiled. "I know. Just teasing."

She looked at her feet again. "Besides, I doubt he feels the same way."

I knelt down and hugged her. "Why wouldn't he?"

She sniffed. "What about me makes you think he would?"

"The fact that you're an amazing, caring person who deserves to be loved."

She didn't respond. I sighed and stood up. "Now you really need to go in. I'll be here at 2:30, to pick you up. As per usual."

"Ok." she let go of my hand and ran toward the school building. I didn't blink until I saw her slip inside. I waited. Maddy peeked out again, smiled, waved and disappeared for good.

Suddenly, I _needed _to blink. Several times, actually. I felt as if a giant had stepped on my chest. My heart actually hurt. I turned and walked away from the school, my hands curled in my pockets. One question kept burning in my mind:

_How was I supposed to tell Maddy I had to leave her tomorrow?_


	4. It went from bad

**Fourth chapter! I don't know why that made me so happy. Anyways, to the reviews!**

**The Monster inside of Me: Matthew has to leave. It's the rule. The story can't be rainbows and butterflies the entire time. *throws ice cream at you* I just realized how heartless that makes me sound. I'm sorry.**

**pinkittwice54: B- but it's not his fault. *throws cookies at you***

**Just obsessed: I know! He's so adorable. He's my favorite hetalia character. *throws cake at you***

**To the story!**

(Maddy's P.O.V)

I will never be able to forget that day, in the same way someone who survived the _Titanic _wouldn't be able to put it out of their head. People tend to remember the worst day of their lives best. It becomes part of them forever, so every detail of my ninth birthday is etched perfectly into my mind.

That day after school, Matthew and I got ready for the play. After that, we went to the theatre and sat in our assigned seats. I hadn't seen my mom all day, but Matthew had wished me happy birthday multiple times. When I asked why he said it repeatedly, he said it was to make up for everything else. I didn't understand what he meant, but from then on, I had a bad feeling about it.

I hardly remember the play, but from what I saw, I'd say the audience laughed and cried in the right places. After that, everyone began to file out and I realized that the play was over. Matthew grabbed my hand and we hurried out, silently following my mother.

The first people to show up at our apartment were a couple I didn't recognize. They apparently didn't recognize me either.

"You must be Jessica's daughter. Maggie, right?" said the old man

"Maddy." but I smiled to show them I wasn't a total brat "May I take your coat?"

"I didn't know Jessica had a kid." the old woman remarked "Hello, Maddy. You're as cute as a button."

_If you didn't know I existed, why'd you come? _

They disappeared down the hallway, leaving me to wonder if I'd ever seen a button that qualified as cute.

By the time I returned from the hall closet, it seemed like there were a hundred people in the room. I searched for Matthew and finally saw him near the radio and DJ. The room was as noisy as the theatre had been. I saw my mom and stepdad standing very close to each other near the kitchen. They were talking and would occasionally send annoyed glances my way. With a sinking feeling, I realized they were probably talking about my haywire sleeping patterns.

An old lady hooked me with the handle of her cane. "Darling, it's been so long since I've seen you."

I smiled at her. "Um, yes yes it has."

She smiled knowingly. "You don't remember me, do you?"

I shook my head. "I'm sorry, but no."

"Oh no need to apologize. The last time I saw you, you had just turned two. I didn't think you would remember me."

I couldn't help feeling ecstatic. Finally, someone who hadn't thought I would remember them and wasn't angry that I hadn't! I glanced toward Matthew. He was whispering something to the DJ. What was he up to?

"Excuse me? May I have your attention please?" It was the DJ. The crowd quieted down immediately.

"I've just been told... I'm not sure by whom... that this is a very special day for someone... she's nine years old today... Jessica's daughter."

_Jessica's daughter. _Suddenly feeling very self- concious, I tried to hide behind the old lady. She laughed and stood me on a chair and I was taller than everyone else in the room. Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" and I blushed.

When it was over, I clambered off the chair and hid in the safety of a corner. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see my mother looking down at me. "Sweetheart, I need to talk to you."

I obediently followed her away from my safe corner and into the hallway. She stopped and turned to me.

"Your dad just called. He said he can't come because he's going to a wedding. And we weren't able to get you a present because of the car issues he had to fix."

A lump formed in my throat. I nodded, tears pricking my eyes. "I understand."

A young women, who I realized after a minute was my stepmother, walked over.

"Not to be intrusive, but can I steal her for a minute?" she asked, grabbing my arm

My mother nodded, turned and walked down the hallway to her room.

I was dragged away by my stepmother and we stopped near the front door. She handed me a wrapped package, her eyes shining. "I'm sorry your dad couldn't come. I reminded your birthday was today."

I nodded. "It's ok." _I'm used to it._

"Open your gift." she pressed

I tore open the wrapping and clawed through the mountain of tissue paper that fell out. I reached inside and pulled out the fluffiest, pinkest stuffed cat I'd ever seen. It had blue eyes that glittered menacingly and a wide, creepy smile that made me think of the Cheshire Cat.

Basically, the total opposite of the cat I'd wanted.

"Thanks, Kelly!" I put a big smile on my face and pushed all thoughts of a real, warm purring kitten out of my head.

She leaned down and kissed my forehead. "I have to go, but have fun!"

I nodded and smiled again.

"You going to be ok?" she asked, pulling her coat on

"Of course!" I lied. "It's my birthday. Who's not ok on their birthday?"

She walked out and I wove through the crowd of adults to my room. I slammed the door and flung myself on my bed, burying my face in my pillow. Here, where no one could see me, I started to weep like the world's biggest crybaby.

Then the door opened.

It was Matthew. Thank goodness, it was Matthew, come to save me.


	5. to worse

**I'm just gonna say it. I don't know where this story is going plotwise yet, so there might be a lot of filler chapters to keep you entertained. At least until I finish the plot, in my head. To the reviews!**

**The Monster inside of Me: Well, that's true. *throws cookies at you* You're welcome.**

**To the story!**

(Matthew's P.O.V)

Maddy was sobbing on her bed by herself when I came in. She definitely didn't look like a birthday girl. But why would she, poor kid?

I sighed, then sat down next to her and wrapped her in a hug. "It's ok," I whispered against her hair, which smelled like strawberries and vanilla, like always. "Let it out."

"Ok, but you asked for it."

Sniffling, her face streaked with tears, Maddy pulled off her shoes and shoved them under her bed. "I think my parents totally forgot my birthday." she said and shuddered with leftover tears "And my stepmom came, which was ok, but then she left in about two minutes! And I didn't get a cat either."

Maddy held the pink kitten against her cheek. I'd noticed that she tended to cuddle objects close to her- a pillow, her blanket, a stuffed animal. She had a lot of hugs to give, but not enough people to give them to.

"You're a good listener." she said with another sniffle "Thanks. I feel better."

I looked around her room. It was pure Maddy: stacks of chapter books written for much older readers, markers and pencils scattered across the floor, a violin in the corner. Over her bed, a periodic table and a cat poster battled for attention.

Now I had to talk to Maddy. The place -her cozy room, away from that stupid party- couldn't be better. The timing -after she'd been hurt by both her parents- couldn't be worse.

"You're an amazing, amazing girl." I said "You know that, right? You must."

"Sort of, but only because you tell me every other day." she said with a watery smile

"You're beautiful, inside and out," I went on "You're incredibly smart, well-read, funny, considerate and generous. You've got so much to give people."

Suddenly, Maddy looked very alert. I'd just said that she was _smart- _and she was about to prove it, wasn't she?

"Matthew, what are you trying to say? What's going on? Something bad."

My eyesight blurred and my heart constricted. "You're nine now." I forced myself to say. "You're a big girl. And so... and so- I'm leaving you tonight. I have to go."

"I know you do. But you'll be back tomorrow. Like always."

I swallowed. This was impossible. "No, Maddy. The thing is, I'll never be back again. I don't have a choice in this, it's a rule." Just saying the words made me feel horrible.

She didn't cry, didn't move a muscle in her face- just like her mom. She looked me squarely in the eye and didn't say anything. There was an awful stillness about her that I'd never seen before.

"Maddy, did you hear me?" I finally had to ask There was a large pause that seemed to go on forever.

"I'm not ready for you to go," she said, large tears starting to roll down her cheeks again "I'm really not ready."

When she grabbed a tissue to wipe her nose, I saw that her hands were shaking. And _that _just killed me.

_Damn it. _I thought, then an idea came to me, but I wasn't sure if it was a good one. It was the only option I had though, so I went with it. "Maddy, I'll tell you a secret. It's the secret of imaginary friends."

"I don't want to hear your secrets." she said, her voice wavering, but I kept going

"Children have imaginary friends to help guide them into their lives. We help children feel less alone and help them find their place in the world, in their families. But then we have to leave, _have to. _That's just... how it works."

"But I told you, _I'm not ready." _

I let her in on another secret. "Once I leave, you won't even remember me. If you ever think of me, I'll just seem like a dream." It was the one thing that made this acceptable at all.

Maddy grabbed my arm and held on tightly. "Please don't leave me, Matthew. I'm begging you. You can't- not now, not ever! You don't know how important you are to me!"

"You'll see, Maddy," I promised "You'll forget me and it won't hurt tomorrow." _Not for you anyway. _

With those words, I began to fade out of the room, like in the movies, and as I did, I heard Maddy's last words.

"Matthew, please don't go! Please don't! If you go, I'll have no one. I'll _never _forget you, Matthew, no matter what. I'll never forget you!"

Which brings the story to today.

Not an imaginary today either.

The real one.


	6. First day back

**That frustration you feel when your cats won't leave you alone and you're trying to write an emotional scene in your story. To the reviews!**

**Just obsessed: XD you're welcome. I'm pretty good at killing people's souls. And stealing them... *throws ice cream at you***

**pinkittwice54: *backs away and hides behind Matthew* Matt, I'm scared. :P I'm not a good writer. *throws cake at you***

**The Monster inside of Me: B-but I can't bring him back. I don't want to suffer the wrath of the british though... *throws cookies at you***

**To the story!**

(Matthew's P.O.V)

_**7 years later**_

_I don't want to get up. _I thought, staring at the ceiling. My alarm went off and I turned it off. Suddenly, the door was thrown open and a human shaped form of matter flung itself at me.

"Time to get up, Mattie!"

"I told you not to call me that Alfred." I grumbled, getting up and moving before he could hit me

"Come on! Arthur's almost ready to go!" he yelled, rushing out the door

"Of course he is." I muttered, quickly changing. I walked into the living room, balancing my bag and glasses on my shoulder. I set my bag down and put my glasses on then sat on the edge of the couch and shoved my feet into my sneakers.

"Are you ok, Mattie?" Francis asked, rubbing my head "You seem kinda depressed. And angry."

I sighed. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded and stood up. "I'm ok. I'm just... kind of confused, I guess."

He smiled. "I see. Is it a girl?"

I facepalmed. "No. That's not it at all."

"Does she like someone else?"

I shook my head and stepped away from him. "No. I told you, that's not what this is about." _She doesn't even remember me!_

"Matthew, come on! We're going to be late!" Arthur yelled from the front door

I walked out of the house and got in the car. Alfred climbed in after me, his eyes shining. Arthur started the car, pulled out of the driveway and started down the street.

"Excited?" I asked

Alfred smiled and nodded. "Oh totally! We get to go to, like, an actual high school!"

Arthur looked at us in the rearview mirror. "What, homeschooling isn't good enough for you?"

"I never said that!" Alfred yelled, flailing his arms around

I ducked to avoid being hit and turned toward the window. _I don't know why he's so excited. _

When we pulled in, I grabbed my stuff and jumped out, desperate to just get through the day without Alfred getting me in trouble.

"I'll pick you guys up at 3." Arthur said, leaning over to look through the window

I nodded and grabbed Alfred's arm. "Let's go."

"Brittany!" a voice in front of me yelled. I looked just in time to see a blond girl run past Alfred and I, up to a girl with chocolate brown hair and dark caramel eyes.

The second girl took a pair of pink and white earbuds out and looked at the blond. "Yes?"

"You took forever!" she cried dramatically, grabbing the brunette's arm and dragging her toward the giant, stone building.

"Shut up! You know I don't get up as early as you do!" the brunette replied, following the blond inside

I dragged Alfred along behind me. Something about the blond had been familiar and I was curious about the two girls. They were obviously friends. Good ones, but they'd both seemed tense, as if they were expecting someone.

We entered the building and looked around. The din of multiple conversations reached my ears and I slipped away from the mass to the safety of a wall. Alfred, on the other hand, waved at countless people and overall, made the hall louder and more chaotic.

The bell rang and everyone rushed to their first period classes. I sighed again and searched through the halls for room 221. After finding it, I walked in and sat in a desk close to the front. More kids spilled in, led by guys who looked like they should be on the football team.

I sighed. _It's going to be a long day._

_**Time skip**_

Walking out of fifth period, my first stop was my locker. I traded the folders and notebooks that went with my morning classes for the ones that went with my afternoon classes. I grabbed my lunch, closed my locker and went to the cafeteria.

None of the groups seemed like ones I would fit into and I couldn't find an empty table to claim. _Alfred's probably got tons of friends already. _I thought ruefully _He's probably having trouble deciding which group to sit with first._

I exited the room and went to one of the side hallways. These seemed to be mostly empty. _I doubt many people come here._

"Michael!" a voice yelled

_Nevermind._

I sighed. _Time to find a corner._

A guy with blond hair and blue eyes appeared around the corner at the other end of the hallway. Clutched in his hand was a small orange notebook.

The brunette from this morning -Brittany- ran after him, followed by the blond girl who'd condemned her for 'being late.' Her ocean blue eyes shone with annoyance. She reached for the notebook in Michael's hand, only for him to hold it up higher and wave it teasingly above her head.

"Michael." she snapped "You're such a jerk! Give it back!"

"Jump." he said

She turned her back on him and crossed her arms. "Absolutely not."

Suddenly, the realization of why something about she had seemed familiar this morning hit me and I gasped. _It can't be!_

Maddy turned and glared at him. "I refuse to jump for it."

Michael smirked at her. "What's so important about this thing anyway?" he opened the notebook and flipped through a few pages.

"Don't look!" she wailed, attempting to grab the notebook again.

Brittany plucked the notebook from him and handed back to Maddy, rolling her eyes.

I gaped at the three of them, frozen in place. _How is this even happening right now? _

"Hey bro!" I felt Alfred tackle me from behind and I crashed to the ground.

"What is wrong with you?" I whisper-shrieked, standing up and glaring at him

"What-cha doing?" he asked, completely oblivious to my mood. He looked over my shoulder and smirked at me. "Stalking some girls, huh?"

"What? No! That's not what I'm doing!" I snapped

"I don't blame you." he said, ignoring my argument "They're not that bad looking!"

I glared at him. "You're horrible. I'm not stalking them, ok?"

"Would you two shut up?" Brittany snapped

I turned back to the group and watched as Michael and Maddy sent glares at each other.

"She started it." Michael muttered

"Did not!" Maddy growled, hitting him in the back of the head

"Brittany, she's abusing me!" he whined

"It's only abuse if it leaves a mark." Maddy muttered

Brittany rolled her eyes again and went back to her book. "I'm not getting in the middle of this."

The bell rang and I jumped. _Need to pay more attention to the things that matter._

Michael stood up.

"Where you going?" both girls asked

"Jinx." Brittany said "You owe me a soda."

Maddy stuck her tongue out. "I know."

"I'm going to the fishbowl." Michael interrupted "It'll be empty since most people have class."

The girls got up and came down the hallway after him. My eyes widened and I backed away. _They'll see me! _

As they turned the corner, Brittany and Michael walked past me without saying anything. Why would they? Maddy appeared, closing the orange notebook from earlier and looked up. Our eyes locked.

Hers' widened slightly and she stared at me for a minute, then she turned away, hurrying down the hall after her friends.


	7. I think I'm going crazy

**I hate moving. It's amazing how much stuff can be in one house. And I'm so sorry I haven't updated my other story in a while! I'm having problems putting it into words. I'm trying to get the next chapter for it written though. To the reviews!**

**pinkittwice54: That is something Michael would do, that's why it happened. Matthew's age is just frozen. Or something like that. I don't know, it makes sense to me. *throws ice cream at you***

**The Monster inside of Me: Um, magic. *throws cake at you***

**Just obsessed: Well I guess I didn't do my job correctly then. *throws cookies at you***

**To the story!**

(Maddy's P.O.V)

I pushed the door to the fishbowl open and snuck along the wall to the table Brittany and Michael were currently occupying. Sitting down, I dropped my notebook on the table and went through my backpack, searching for a pen.

"Michael," I said, sitting up and pulling my notebook away from his outstretched hand "If you touch my notebook again, I will steal your soul, kill it and eat it."

"I don't have a soul for you to steal and eat." he said

"Good!" I snapped "It probably wouldn't taste good away!"

"Maddy, you know none of us have souls." Brittany reminded me

"Why do you care if I look at your notebook anyway?" Michael asked "It's just a bunch of drawings of eyes."

"Because," I growled "I don't like it when people stare at my drawings."

"I wasn't staring." he muttered

I rolled my eyes and reached for my pen, only to hit cold wood. I looked down in surprise and sighed. _Fuck. _I looked on the ground and around my chair. _Where is it?_

I sat up. "Where's my pen?"

Michael shrugged. "I don't know."

Brittany scrolled through... _something _on her computer screen. She shrugged.

I looked around again. And again. I sighed and threw my notebook back into my backpack. "Well, my pen has disappeared into another dimension."

I sighed and rested my head on the table. _Just great. That was my last pen. _

"Aw, Maddy. Are you sad about your pen leaving you?" Michael asked

"Sort of." I muttered _It's not like I can tell them about Matthew. They probably wouldn't believe me anyway._

He started to pet my head.

I sat up, gripping my hair protectively. "What are you doing!?"

"I just wanna make you feel good." he said, his voice lower than usual. His eyes widened and he looked at his lap. "Sorry, that was weird."

I scooted away from the table. "Ya it was."

"Maybe if I said it differently..." he started to repeat the sentence, his voice still creepy

"That just sounds wrong." Brittany muttered, putting her headphones on

I nodded. "Michael, just stop talking."

"Ya, I'll just stop."

"Good." I snapped, resting my head on the table again. "Michael, don't touch me."

"I wasn't planning to!"

"Good."

I closed my eyes and used my arms as pillows. I heard Brittany tapping away at her keyboard, probably typing her story. Michael said something inaudible and unzipped his backpack. I could hear his papers rustling as he sifted through them. Finally, he sat back up and dropped something on the table. By the sound, I'd say it was his sketch pad.

My eye itched and I shifted, trying to scratch it without changing my position. _Stupid eye._

I sighed again, dragging my arm out from under my head when it fell asleep. Sitting up, I traced the lines that had been caved into the table with my finger.

"Are you ok?" Brittany asked

I looked over at her. "What?"

"You seem sad." she tilted her head to the side "Are you ok?"

I nodded. "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. You just seem off."

I shook my head. _I can't tell her. She wouldn't believe me. _

I looked out the window, watching as the shadows lengthened until they bathed the wall in shades. Michael was soon dragged away by a few of his other friends and I bit my lip. "Brittany?"

She looked at me. "Hm?"

"C-can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure."

I played with a string on my sleeve and took a deep breath. _This is it. Everything you've been keeping from people. _"You know how at some point in their lives, all children have imaginary friends?"

"Maddy, mine haven't left me." Brittany joked when she saw my face, she stopped. "Continue."

I bit my lip again. "Well, mine left me when I was nine. He told me I'd forget about him. The thing is, I never did and... I think I just saw him in the hall."

She burst out laughing. "Right. You just saw him in the hall. What's his name then?"

"Matthew." I replied

She laughed harder. "Right." she turned to the space next to me. "Hey, Matthew. So when did you become Maddy's imaginary friend?"

"Brittany, I'm being serious." I muttered through grit teeth. _I knew she wouldn't believe me._

She stopped and looked at me, the humor completely gone from her face. "Alright, say he was your imaginary friend. What's he doing here?"

I opened my mouth to reply, then closed it. What _would _Matthew be doing here? And after seven years? "Um..."

"How do you know he was imaginary in the first place?" she asked

I bit my lip. "Well, no one else ever saw him. I kinda just assumed..."

"What if he was just a regular guy with the power of invisibility?" her eyes were wide and questioning

I paused. "Oh my god..."

"Ah crap." Brittany muttered

"That's so cool!"

Brittany facepalmed.


	8. I wasn't stalking them!

**I wish it was still spring break. I'm not in the mood for school. You know what else is annoying? When you politely ask a friend to stop doing something and they give you an annoyed look then continue doing the thing. To the reviews!**

**TheBadTouchDou: No, Maddy is not fem!canada. She's an OC. *throws cookies at you***

**pinkittwice54: Yes, yes it is. *throws cake at you***

**To the story!**

(Matthew's P.O.V)

Arthur decided to wait until we were out of the school parking lot to say anything. "So how was the first day of school?"

"Good!" Alfred replied, jumping up and down. He looked out the window and gasped. "Hey Matthew, it's those girls you were stalking!"

The car came to an abrupt stop. Arthur looked back at me his eyes reflected in the rearview mirror. "You were stalking some girls?"

I shook my head. "No, they were at the other end of the hallway. I was just watching them."

"Matthew, that was very impolite. Not only that, but a gentleman would never do such a thing." Arthur scolded

"But I wasn't stalking them." I muttered, sneaking a look out the window. Brittany and Maddy were staring at the car, confusion written all over their faces. They exchanged a look, then said something I couldn't hear because of the closed window.

Alfred rolled down the window. "Hey," he yelled at them "My brother was stalking you!"

The two girls exchanged uncomfortable glances and backed away slightly.

I groaned. "I wasn't-"

"We'll talk about this when we get home." Arthur said, turning back to the road "Alfred, roll the window up. You'll get wet from the rain."

"Oh come on!" Alfred yelled out the window "He's not _that _bad!"

"That's our cue to run." Brittany muttered

Maddy nodded and booked it across the street. "See ya Brittany!"

"Maddy!" Brittany yelled in an annoyed voice, then took off in the opposite direction

"Where are you going?" Alfred shouted "He's really not that bad! And don't forget about me!"

"Alfred close the window!" Arthur snapped, starting to drive again. "Matthew, we'll talk about stalking them later."

"But I wasn't-"

"And we won't be talking with Francis about it because he'll just tell 'good job' or something. Completely disrespectful."

I slumped forward and didn't say a word the rest of the way home.

"Honestly, Matthew," Arthur muttered, getting out of the car and walking up the driveway. "If Alfred had stalked some girls, I wouldn't have been surprised, but you?" he shook his head. "Maybe I need to talk to Francis about being a better influence."

"Hey!" Alfred snapped, pushing me aside and bolting into the house. "I wouldn't have stalked them! I would've just gone up to them! After all, no girl can resist the hero!"

_They can if they find you as annoying as I do._

"Right." Arthur muttered setting his keys on the desk

"How did the first day go?" Francis asked, walking into the living room

"Matthew was stalking some girls." Alfred said

Francis sent me an approving smile. "Really? Were they cute?"

"I wasn't stalking them." I muttered

"Good job Mattie!" he said, his smile returning

"Don't encourage him!" Arthur snapped

The doorbell went off, echoed by the patter of the rain against the window.

Alfred looked out the window. "Hey Matthew, it's that blond girl you were stalking!"

A feeling of dread settled over me. "What?" _What's she doing here? _

"I'll get it." Arthur said, opening the door "May I help you?"

"Sorry to bother you." Maddy said instantly

"No worries. Did you need something?"

"I was just wondering if this cat belonged to you."

_She came to ask about a cat? _I hid behind Arthur and peeked over his shoulder.

He shook his head. "No, it's not ours."

A sodden lump of light grey fur rested in Maddy's arms. She sighed. "Ok, just thought I'd check." she reached down, scratched the cat under its' chin and wrapped it in her hoodie.

"Was that all you needed?" Arthur asked "Do you want a jacket?"

She shook her head. "No thank you. I live pretty close, I'll be ok."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded and walked away.

Arthur shut the door and turned around. "She seems like a nice girl."

I nodded. "Well, I'm tired and we didn't have homework. I'm going to bed." I went up the stairs and down the hallway to my room. Walking in, I closed the door and flopped onto my bed.

_Why'd I have to see Maddy today? Why'd the high school we decided to go to have to be the one she goes to? _I sat up and rubbed my forehead with my fingertips.

_Did she forget me? She was supposed to, but she looked shocked to see me in the hallway._

I laid back down. _That could have been anything though. Maybe she saw something over my shoulder. _

I sat up and unzipped my backpack. Kuma crawled out, his fur flattened on one side from being in the bag all day.

"Do you think she remembers me, Kuma?" I asked, picking him up and setting him on my lap

"Who?"

"Nevermind."


	9. Bedtime Stories

**To the reviews!**

**Just obsessed: Alfred, you gotta love him. *laughs sarcastically* sometimes I wonder how arthur can put up with him. *throws cake at you***

**pinkittwice54: I told you I'd bring Kuma back into the story. *throws ice cream at you***

**To the story!**

(Maddy's P.O.V)

I woke up, feeling like there were piles of those really dense pillows on my chest. Looking down, I realized it was only the cat I'd found.

"I suppose you already have a name." I muttered, scratching under her chin. She meowed happily and licked my fingers. I laughed and gently moved her off me. "As much as I love cuddling with you, I have to go."

I got up, stretched and quickly got dressed. "You think Matthew still has Kuma?" I asked, looking back at the cat

She yawned and rested her head on her paws. _Stupid, how would she know? She doesn't even know who you're talking about._

"That bear was adorable." I brushed my hair. "He could be kind of annoying sometimes though."

I walked out of the room, set up the coffee pot so it'd brew while I finished getting ready and slipped my boots on. When I get back to my room, the cat was gone. I looked around and zipped my backpack up. I yawned. _It's too early for life._

I hitched my backpack over my shoulder and walked out of the house. When a car came roaring up, I froze. The driver gestured for me to cross the street and I waved him forward. He shrugged and drove down the street.

I continued, my mind wandering. _I wonder if Michael cut his hair like he said he was going to. What were we going to do in gym today? Did I have math homework last night? Was that paragraph from french homework? I need to find that cat's owner. She doesn't look like any of the strays. _

I crossed the street that led to the school and went back my thoughts. The one topic I wouldn't allow myself to think about was Matthew. _I wonder if our grades have been updated yet. I needed to go in and retake that test. Was I planning to do that today or tomorrow?_

Finally getting to the school, I pushed inside, into the warmth of the building and hurried to my locker. Grabbing the folders for my morning classes, I shed my hoodie and threw it in my locker. Closing it, I turned and jogged to the front door. I needed to talk to Brittany.

Despite my best efforts, I couldn't help thinking about Matthew. _He told me I'd forget him. Why didn't I? Did I actually see him yesterday? No, I was just seeing things. It was a stressful day, I could've imagined anything._

I saw Brittany and ran up to her. "You're late."

"Am not." she replied as we walked inside

"Ready for gym?" I asked

"No."

"Me neither." _You didn't actually see Matthew, you just imagined him. He wouldn't leave, then come back seven years later to just stand there and stare at you. Why would he be in a high school anyway? Wouldn't he be older now?_

"Maddy?" Brittany asked, waving a hand in front of my face

I looked at her. "Hm? What?"

She shook her head. "Never mind."

"Ok..." we entered the locker room and changed into our gym uniforms. Once we got out, we walked around the bleachers and sat down near the wall.

"So what were you thinking about?" Brittany asked

The teacher came out and we went to our spots. Coach started to take attendance and I looked away, my eyes trained on the floor.

"Soccer." he said finally

I groaned. _Of course we're playing soccer. That's all we ever do anymore. Why can't we do bad mitten?_

Suddenly, coach's face went red with rage and he turned to a boy in the row next to me. "What are you doing? Pay attention. Stop acting like this is your bedroom and you're being told a bedtime story!"

_A bedtime story, huh?_

_-flashback-_

"_Hurry up, Matthew. We have to find out what the witch did to the polar bear!" I crawled under my blanket, adjusting my pillow. _

_Matthew chuckled and pulled the blanket up to my shoulders, then sat on the edge of my bed. "Ok. Where were we?"_

"_The little polar bear had just escaped from the witch's house." Kuma crawled onto my lap and I hugged him, marveling at the softness of his fur as I petted him._

"_Right. The polar bear kept running. He knew he needed to get away from the witch." Matthew began "He had to get away because she wanted to bake him into a pie."_

"_No!" I whimpered_

"_Soon the little bear became tired because of how far he had run. He decided to dig a hole and cover it with leaves and sticks. That way, the witch wouldn't see him. After he'd dug his hole and covered it, he crawled inside and fell asleep."_

_I tightened my grip on Kuma, who squirmed until he found a comfortable position again._

"_But the witch had placed a tracking spell on the polar bear and soon she found his hole. Moving the leaves out of the way, she picked him up and said-"_

"Maddy!"

I jumped and looked at Brittany. I smiled sheepishly, knowing I was about to get chewed out. "Yes?"

Brittany huffed. "Seriously, what were you thinking about? You were zoned out for almost fifteen minutes!"

I blushed and looked away. "Oops..."

"This is not the time to be zoned out, I was tempted to smack you in the face in the next 30 second if you didn't have any kind of reaction." she snapped, grabbing my arm and dragging me toward the locker room.

"I thought you said I was only zoned out for fifteen minutes." I said confused, as more girls followed us

"Ya, well coach spent the entire class lecturing us about paying attention." she muttered, starting to change

"But class had just started..." I trailed off and slipped into my jeans

"Coach was late and didn't show up until class was almost over, remember?" she mumbled, pulling her shoes on

"Oh ya... that'll probably never happen again. Where was he anyway?" I asked

"Picking up a new student, I think." she replied, picking up her backpack

"A new student, huh? Interesting..." I couldn't help smiling evilly

"Maddy, no hurting people." Brittany scolded as we walked down the hallway

"Aw, but Brittany!" I whined "Torturing people is so fun!"

She burst out laughing. "That's not something you say in the middle of the hall."

"But you're laughing." I argued, slipping into my own fit of laughter. I ran into to someone, sending them and their stuff to the ground. "Oh my god, I'm sorry!" I reached down to help the person up and froze.

Because the guy on the ground couldn't really be there. Because he'd never been real. Because he looked exactly like...

"Matthew?"


	10. meeting once again

**I know this has nothing to do with this story, but I'm considering posting the first chapter of a Lord of the Rings/Hobbit fanfiction I've started. I've only written the first chapter, but I know where I'm going plotwise with it. Unlike this story... What do you guys think? To the reviews!**

**Just obsessed: No, I'm going to discontinue the story with an ending like that. *yawns* kidding. *throws cake at you***

**The Monster inside of Me: Please don't die. You need to breathe. *throws cake at you***

**To the story!**

(Matthew's P.O.V)

"Matthew Williams and Alfred F. Jones, please come to the counselor's office." an accented, feminine voice said over the intercom

I groaned and turned to glare at Alfred. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!" he yelled "Why would you think I did?"

"Because usually you do something and I get blamed for it!" I snapped

Alfred didn't do anything. Our schedules were being changed. The counselor handed us our new schedules, the smell of ink floating around the white computer print-outs.

_Gym. Are you serious? Our classes went from geography and math to gym?_

"Cool!" Alfred yelled "We get to go to gym first!"

"That means you'll have to stay awake during first period." I muttered

He stared at me, horrified. "What? But the hero's sleep is important!"

I sighed. "Alfred, why the hell-" someone slammed into me and I stumbled backward, crashing to the ground

"Oh my god, I'm sorry!" a feminine voice said

Through a layer of hair, I could see a hand reaching down toward me. I brushed the hair out of my face and the hand froze. I looked up and mentally panicked.

"Matthew?" Maddy said gaping at me, her eyes wide

"So this is Matthew." Brittany said walking up "He's kinda cute. Nice going Maddy."

I could feel my face heat up and Maddy went pink. "You know who I am?" I said finally, standing up and brushing dust off my jeans

Maddy rolled her eyes. "No, I'm just assuming your name is Matthew. Of course I know who you are, idiot!"

"Hey, don't call my brother an idiot!" Alfred growled, stepping in front of me "Don't worry, Mattie. I'll protect you, like a real hero!"

I facepalmed. "I told you not to call me that. And she's just irritated."

"She called you an idiot! I'm just doing what any hero would!"

"I thought heros only rescued the damsels in distress."

"Hey, we have to get to class." Brittany said, tugging on Maddy's arm who was still frowning at me, as if she was still trying to process the whole situation. "Come on, you can stare at him later."

Maddy sighed then looked at me. "I want an explanation."

"For what? Why I'm here?" I asked

Her hand darted forward and she grabbed my arm. Scribbling something on it, she released me and started after Brittany, who'd apparently gotten tired of waiting for her. "Tell me later."

I looked at my arm. There was a phone number scribbled across it in purple ink. _Did she really just write her phone number on my arm? _

Alfred smirked at me and dragged me to our next class. "Nice going bro. You got a girl's number within the first five minutes of seeing her."

I groaned. "I can't believe I have to spend the first three classes with you."

He rolled his eyes. "You know you love me."

"For some reason." I looked down at my arm and shook my head. _How am I supposed to explain something I don't understand myself?_

**Sorry this chapter was so short. I wasn't able to do nearly as much as I wanted with this chapter. I was trying to figure out how to make everything seem realistic. Of course this story isn't all that realistic, but I don't care.**


	11. Protectiveness tends to end in bloodshed

**To the reviews!**

**The Monster inside of Me: I agree. The school doesn't care though. *throws ice cream at you* They don't know how irritating Alfred is, though.**

**Just obsessed: I wouldn't leave you guys with an ending like that. *throws cake at you***

**MyBrokenHeart123: *backs away* please don't kill me. *throws brownies at you***

**To the story!**

(Maddy's P.O.V)

I groaned and sat up, rubbing my eyes and yawning. I stretched and scratched an itch on my shoulder.

"I don't wanna." I muttered, yawning again "There's just nothing else to it. I simply don't want to."

The grey cat yawned, then glared at me. She meowed and went back to sleep.

"You don't care, do you?" I asked, running a hand down her back, then getting up. "Of course you don't. Why would you? You can't even understand what I'm saying."

I quickly got dressed, then brushed my hair and put it in a ponytail. "So I'm officially going insane." I muttered, shoving my feet into my sneakers. "I actually saw Matthew a few days ago and yesterday, I wrote my phone number on his arm."

Another annoyed meow rose from her throat and I rolled my eyes. "You don't have to care, just listen."

She meowed in annoyance again.

"I'm sorry I feel the need to talk to someone about my nearing insanity, ok? You just happen to be closest. Unlike you, I actually have responsibilities and problems I need to deal with."

_It's a cat. You're yelling at a cat about having responsibilities. You're definitely going insane._

My alarm went off and I grabbed my backpack, hurrying out of the house. When I got to the school, I rushed to my locker and grabbed everything. My head was starting to hurt and I rubbed my temples, resting my forehead against the cool metal of my locker for a minute.

The bell rang and I flinched, pushing through the crowds of people to the gym. Rushing into the locker room, I changed and tackled Brittany. "Hi."

"Hey." she replied, then poked me in the ribs until I let go and took off

"Brittany!" I yelled, running after her

"Ok, kids sit down." Coach said, setting his clipboard on the desk by the bleachers "We're doing basketball today. Your teams are the rows you're sitting in." He began numbering off the rows. I didn't understand why he did it, we could figure it out on our own. My team was always the last one and Brittany's was always the first one. It wasn't hard to remember.

"Teams 2 and 4 over there," Coach said pointing to one of the courts. "3 and 5, you're over there. 1 and 6, you're here."

Everyone split into their teams and trudged to the courts they'd been assigned to. Most of the guys whooped and yelled as they went, making the rest of us look lazy and unathletic.

Coach passed us a ball and the game started. People sprinted back and forth across the court, yelling at their teammates and waving their arms above their heads. Brittany and I gradually made our way over to a corner. "So, what's up?"

"Hey, girls! Participate!" Coach yelled

I flinched and walked but onto the court. Brittany walked to the opposite side, her shoulders slightly drooping. I felt someone grab my arm, turned and smiled. "Hey Matthew."

"I'm assuming neither of you really like this sport." He replied, releasing me and staring at a guy with short blond hair, a cowlick and glasses.

"You know me," I muttered "Sports are my enemy."

"They didn't used to be." he said in a quiet voice

"You used to threaten to beat me with a hockey stick!" I growled

"I only did that once!" he snapped "And I'd told you multiple times _not _to make me use it!"

"I was six!" I whisper shouted "Do you have any idea how terrifying you were?"

Matthew shook his head and walked away. That either meant no or he didn't want to talk about it.

Suddenly the blond guy got the ball and rushed down the court. Pushing through a cluster of people, he plowed through Brittany and dunked the ball. I glared at him, my protective side coming out.

The ball bounced over to me and I grabbed it. Taking aim, I launched at the guy's head, watching as he turned just in time for it to smack him in the face.

I tried to hide the evil smile I could feel starting. "Sorry." _I'm not sorry._ Jogging toward Brittany, I waved a hand in her face. "You ok?"

She squinted up at me. "What year is the president?"

"What?" I helped her up. "You need to go to the nurse's office. I think you have a concussion."

"Alfred, what the hell?" I heard Matthew ask "You gave a concussion!"

"I didn't mean to!" Alfred replied

We walked -well, Brittany more stumbled then walked- down the hall to the nurse's office and after explaining what happened,Brittany laid down. I glared at the bed. Brittany probably didn't care, since she was unconscious, but to me, it looked so uncomfortable.

"You can go back to class now." the nurse said

I looked at her and bit my tongue to keep what I _really_ wanted to say down. "I want to stay to make sure she's ok."

The nurse shook her head. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

_You should be afraid._ I bit harder and curled my hands into the hem of my shirt to keep from punching something. "Why not?"

"Does your teacher know you're here?" she asked

"What does that have to do with the fact that you won't let me stay with my friend?" I snapped

"Does your teacher know you're here?" she repeated

"Yes." I growled "Can I stay?"

"I guess." the nurse said, walking away "Just don't wake her up. She'll do that on her own."

_No, really? _I thought sarcastically _I thought you had to hit people with concussions until they woke up._

My anger faded and I pulled the stool out of the corner, sitting on it and watching Brittany (which isn't creepy at all).

"How is she?"

I looked up, expecting it to be the nurse, only to see that it was Matthew. I shrugged. "Don't know."

He smiled nervously. "I'd like to apologize on behalf of my brother. It won't happen again."

"Apology accepted. But it better not happen again, otherwise there'll be hell to pay." I replied "Alfred's your brother?"

Matthew looked surprised. "You know his name?"

"I heard you two talking as we walked away." I explained

"Did I get hit by a truck?"

I looked at Brittany. "Sort of."

"You could say that." Matthew muttered

I smiled. "Ya, Brittany you got hit by a truck."

"How'd a truck get inside?" she asked

"It walked into the gym."

"What was it doing on the court?"

"Trying to score a basket."


	12. Did I ever tell you that-

**To the reviews!**

**pinkittwice54: you're welcome. *throws chocolate at you***

**Just obsessed: *shrugs* because why not? It's cake. *throws brownies at you***

**To the story!**

(Matthew's P.O.V)

"Do you boys have homework?" Arthur asked, his eyes trained on the road.

Alfred nodded and started retelling the whole day, starting with what had happened in gym.

"She threw a basketball at your head?" Arthur asked, quickly glancing over his shoulder

Another nod from Alfred. "I don't even know what I did to deserve it."

"You gave Brittany a concussion." I muttered

"You gave a girl a concussion?" Arthur repeated

"I didn't mean to!" Alfred yelled

Arthur slammed on the brakes, throwing Alfred and I forward. Our seat belts locked and stopped us about six inches away from the seat.

"It can't be." Arthur said, staring out the window in amazement

"Can't be what?" I asked, starting to sit up

Arthur suddenly stomped on the gas and spun the wheel furiously. My head slammed back against the seat and I reached desperately for the assist handle above the door. When the car stopped again, I sat up, rubbing the back of my head and glaring at the back of Arthur's.

"Why the hell did you do that?" Alfred yelled

Arthur continued to stare out the window, his eyes wide and shocked. "It can't be." he muttered again "It's not possible." he turned around, his eyes blazing "Why didn't either one of you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" I asked, now just too confused to be mad

He pointed out the window, his eyes still wide, but this time in anger. "Why didn't you tell me?"

I turned until my gaze was directed to what he was pointing at. "Oh, you mean Brittany? She's the girl Alfred gave a concussion."

Brittany was sitting on the ground, her hand placed on her forehead, while Maddy crouched next to her. Both girls seemed unaware that we were watching them.

"You gave Brittany a concussion!?" Arthur yelled, glaring daggers at Alfred

The latter shrank back, his eyes shining with fear. "Um ya...? I told you..."

Arthur turned back to the window, his knuckles clenched so tight, they were white on the steering wheel. "Why the hell would you-"

"I didn't mean to!" Alfred snapped

I leaned away from Arthur, both surprised and slightly scared by his behavior. Why was he getting so agitated? What was wrong with him?

"And you yell at me for stalking them." I muttered

Arthur rolled his eyes. "It's not stalking if you know them."

I crossed my arms and glared at him. "It kind of is."

The girls parted ways, walking in opposite directions. Arthur stared intently at Brittany, his hands clenched into fists on the steering wheel. "Not possible." he muttered, starting the car and turning back onto the main road.

"What's not possible?" Alfred asked

Arthur shook his head and sighed. "It can't be."

"What can't be?"

We pulled into the driveway and the car became uncomfortably quiet.

"Alfred, will you go inside?" Arthur asked in a quiet voice "Matthew and I need to talk."

Alfred scrambled out of the car and slammed the door, running inside as if his life depended on it.

_Thanks bro. So nice to know that you have my back. _

Arthur sighed and looked at me. "Is this how you felt when you first saw her again?"

"What?" I asked "What are you talking about?"

He groaned and slammed his head against the dashboard. I leaned back, startled at his reaction.

"Arthur," I began hesitantly "Why'd you get so freaked out when you found out Brittany was the girl Alfred had given a concussion?"

He sighed and looked at me. "You know how you were Maddy's imaginary friend when she was little?"

I nodded, having a feeling I knew where he was going with this.

"Well, I was Brittany's."


	13. Memories

**I officially don't like writing from Arthur's POV. I'm sorry if the hetalia characters seem OOC. I have trouble writing from cannon characters POV's. I usually mess it up. ^ ^; My bad. To the reviews!**

**Fairy Tail Fanatic 4EVER: Ya, me neither. He definitely would be more like a nanny. *throws fudge at you* This is why certain are psychology scarred. They had Arthur for an imaginary friend.**

**Just obsessed: *backs away* ok... *throws chocolate at you***

**BananaJoe: *happily eats the cake* plot twists are always fun. *throws brownies at you***

**Lavendor Queen: yes, yes it did. *throws ice cream at you***

**MagicRose37: ... What? *throws cookie dough at you***

**To the story!**

(Arthur's P.O.V)

_-flashback-_

"_Arthur! Arthur, watch me!" Brittany yelled_

"_I'm watching." I said, turning to make sure she didn't fall from the branch she was balancing on. Hearing my phone ring, I turned away and answered it. "Hello?"_

_No one responded. I cleared my throat. "Hello?"_

_Still no response. I rolled my eyes and hung up._

"_Arthur, you're not even paying attention!" Brittany scolded_

_I turned back to her and smiled apologetically. "Sorry poppet. I'm watching."_

_She stuck her tongue out at me and climbed to a higher branch, bark and twigs raining down._

"_Be careful." I called after her "I'm sure your mother wouldn't be happy if you came home injured."_

_She only giggled in response and climbed higher._

"_I think that's the highest you've gone in that tree." I commented, looking worriedly up at her_

"_Me too." she agreed in an excited voice _

_I lifted my hand to shield my eyes and tried to look farther than a normal person would be able to. It didn't work. "Brittany? Poppet? Will you come down please? Those higher branches are too thin to support the weight of a person."_

"_Ok." she chirped, beginning to scramble down, causing more pieces of bark to fall to the ground with a patter. _

"_Be careful. And don't jump down, you might get hurt."_

_I looked at the sky for a minute, checking to see how much progress the clouds had made over the sun. It was completely covered. Rain started to fall, creating little dots on the sidewalk. I turned back to Brittany, who'd made her way down to the lowest branch. She jumped down, smiling all the way._

_I lunged forward to catch her and she crashed to the ground, hitting her knee on a root. I leaned down and checked her knee. "Are you ok?"_

_She nodded. "You were right."_

_I helped her up and checked her over for any other injuries. "It doesn't look like you got hurt. You'll probably have a bruise on your knee though."_

_Brittany shrugged. "That happens a lot." she took my hand and we started walking to her house._

"_You need to be more careful." I said_

_She shrugged again and jumped into a puddle, splashing water everywhere. _

"_Brittany!" _

_She laughed and jumped into another puddle, water splattering against her shirt. She continued jumping into puddles, thoroughly soaking the two of us. "Brittany!"_

"_Hey Arthur?"_

"_Hmm?" I turned around._

_Brittany kicked water at me and I sighed. "Having fun?"_

_She nodded and ran ahead of me. "Yup!"_

"_Brittany!" I took off after her. _

_She stopped at her house and turned to me. I hugged her, then stood up and rubbed her head. "See you tomorrow poppet."_

"_Bye Arthur." she went outside. _

_I smiled, turned and walked away._


	14. Everything's better with Mint

**To the reviews!**

**Guineapiglily: thank you. *grabs kittens and cuddles them* they're so cute! *throws cookies at you***

**Fairy Tail Fanatic 4EVER: France scares me. Not as much as Russia does, but if he were my imaginary friend, I'd probably become a psychopath. *throws cake at you***

**Just obsessed: Yup, he can be adorable when he wants to be. *throws brownies at you***

**pinkittwice54: you're welcome. *throws chocolate at you***

**This chapter will be set a few months after the previous one. Oh, also... Flying Mint Bunny!**

**To the story! **

(Arthur's P.O.V)

_-flashback-_

_Brittany sniffed and yawned, her eyes bloodshot. I put a hand on her forehead and grimaced. Her fever had gotten even higher. "Maybe next time you go outside, you'll wear your coat?"_

_She sneezed and started coughing. "Maybe."_

_I rolled my eyes and poured some cough syrup into a spoon. She obediently took the medicine and sneezed again. _

_I stood up and walked into the kitchen. "I'll make you some tea."_

"_Hi there!" a familiar voice said_

_Before I could look to see who it was, Brittany gasped. "Flying Mint Bunny!"_

_I smiled and grabbed a mug out of the cupboard. Other than me, Brittany was the only one who could see Flying Mint Bunny. She thought he was the most adorable thing ever._

_I filled the mug with water and stuck it in the microwave. Sifting through the cupboards, I eventually found the boxes of tea and pulled out a tea bag of the kind Brittany actually liked. The microwave beeped and I pulled the mug out, dropping the tea bag in. _

_Once it had finished steeping, I pulled it out and stirred the tea. Walking into the living room, I looked up at Brittany and stopped. "Why is there sugar on your face?"_

_She shrugged, completely poker faced. "Is there?" she licked her cheek. "Oh, look. There is."_

_I set the mug down and crossed my arms. "Brittany?"_

_Another shrug. "I don't know."_

_Flying Mint Bunny flew over to me and went in circles around my head. _

"_You had something to do with this, didn't you?" I asked him_

"_Why would you think that?" he asked, still flying in circles_

_I grabbed him and pulled what looked like cotton candy out of his fur. "Because there's pink sugar in your fur and what looks like melted ice cream on your paws."_

_Brittany giggled and covered her mouth as she started coughing. I released Flying Mint Bunny, hurried over to her and felt her forehead. "Your fever's just gotten worse."_

_She coughed again, sounding like she was about to hack a lung up or something. I gently patted her back, waiting for the spasm to end. _

_When it finally ended, I stood up, grabbed the tea and walked back to her, handing her the mug. After making sure she drank some, I got up._

"_Flying Mint Bunny?" I called_

_He flew toward me from around the corner. "Hm?"_

"_What did you give Brittany?"_

"_Um... I might have given her cotton candy. And ice cream."_

"_That is not proper food for her right now!" I yelled "She's sick! She can't be eating cotton candy and ice cream!"_

_He backed away, then turned and took off._

"_Flying Mint Bunny! Get back here!" I took off after him _

_Chasing him around the house, I grabbed a pan and threw it at him. He flew into the living room and started going in circles around the fan._

"_Go Mint Bunny, go!" Brittany yelled from the couch_

"_Don't encourage him!" I snapped, reaching forward to grab him and suddenly dropped to the ground. I looked up, searching for the thing that had tripped me. "I tripped over the coffee table?"_

_Said table lay on its side, mugs and bowls upended on the floor, their contents splattered against the carpet. I glared at it._

_Brittany sat on the couch shaking. She looked like she was trying not to laugh and cough at the same time. Her face turned pink and she shook harder, her breath coming out in short puffs. I got up, darted across the room and patted her back._

_Eventually, she stopped shaking and could breathe normally again. She looked up at me with tired, half closed eyes. _

"_Are you ok?" I asked_

_She shrugged, laid down and closed her eyes. Her breathing slowed and I could tell she'd fallen asleep. _

_The front door opened. "I'm home."_

_I jumped. Her mom wasn't supposed to be home yet. She must have come home early. _

_I pulled the blanket up until it covered Brittany's shoulders. "See you tomorrow poppet." _


	15. Arthur was what?

**To the reviews!**

**The Monster inside of Me: Ya, I don't think Arthur thought about that. Wait, what did you not see coming? The fact that Brittany can see Flying Mint Bunny? *throws cookie dough at you***

**Just obsessed: (: Thank you. *throws fudge at you***

**To the story!**

(Maddy's P.O.V)

It was my fault.

Brittany and I had planned to walk to school together for once. We both went the same way and we walked home everyday. Of course, I'd decided that staying up til almost two in the morning the night before was a good idea.

So yeah, when my alarm went off at six o'clock that morning, I turned it off and went back to sleep. And somehow managed to sleep through my other alarms. I finally woke up when I heard my fourth alarm go off.

Only because if I didn't get up and out of house in the next five minutes, I was going to be late for school and my mother was going to murder me in my sleep. I staggered across my room, changed and hurriedly shoved my stuff into my backpack.

Forcing my sneakers on, I ran out the door and across the parking lot. Suddenly, I realized something: _I'd forgotten my phone._

I ran faster. I didn't have time to go back for it now. Plus I was pretty sure I could survive for one day without it. I passed the park and was about to run across the street when a car pulled into view. I skidded to a stop and took the opportunity to catch my breath.

"Need a ride?" a voice called

I looked up and smiled. "Hey Matthew."

He smiled back. "_Do _you need a ride? You look like you're running late."

A ride sounded amazing, but I shrugged. "I don't want to impose..."

The front window rolled down and a blond guy with brilliant, emerald green eyes sent me a small smile. "It's no issue."

I shrugged. "Alright." I opened the back door and climbed in next to Matthew.

"This is Arthur." he said gesturing to the guy in the driver's seat. Arthur didn't respond.

"Nice to meet you." I said and glanced at the blond on the other side of Matthew. "You're Alfred, right?" _The guy who gave Brittany a concussion..._ A memory of something about him poked at me in the back of my mind, but I forced myself to pay attention to his response.

He nodded. "That's me! I'm the hero!"

_That's kinda weird. _I smiled pleasantly, biting my tongue to keep myself from voicing my thoughts. I leaned forward as Arthur drove down the street. "Hey Arthur?"

"Hm?" he replied

"Um, I don't want to seem rude or anything, but um... I was planning to walk to school with my friend Brittany and um, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind... giving her a ride too? It just seems unfair to me not to give her one..."

He smiled, but it seemed forced and kind of sad, though I couldn't figure out why. "Of course."

Surprisingly, when we came to Brittany's street, I didn't have to say anything. Arthur turned and went down the street, his demeanor suggesting that he knew how to get to our destination, but wasn't happy to be there.

The car came to a stop and I undid the seatbelt and opened the door. "I'll get her." Hurrying to the front door, I knocked and shifted from foot to foot.

The door opened and Brittany stepped out. "You're late. I was about to leave without you."

"I'm sorry." I muttered "I stayed up really late last night and slept through my alarms."

"I figured." she replied

I scratched the back of my head nervously. "I managed to get a ride though."

She looked shocked. "From who?"

"Hey dudette!" Alfred yelled from the car

I facepalmed. _Alfred..._

Brittany froze and grabbed my arm as I tried to walk past. "You got a ride to school from your former imaginary friend and his brother?"

"And Arthur." I added, pulling my arm out of her grasp and walking toward the car "I think he's their father. He acts like it."

She sighed and followed me. "Alright. Let's go."

I opened the back door and scrambled in. Brittany walked around to the front and got in, setting her bag on the floor and buckling her seatbelt. Arthur stared at her.

She looked at him and smiled slightly. "Um, hi?"

He looked away, a pained expression on his face and started the car again. We drove down the street, turned onto the main one and headed to school.

"So why do you get to sit in the back?" Brittany asked

"I'm sitting back here for your protection." I replied, sending a pointed look at Alfred.

"Don't lie Maddy. We both know you're just sitting back there because Matthew's back there." she said

"Shut up, Brittany. You know that's only part of the reason!" I snapped

She slowly turned to me. "You know I was kidding, right?"

I blushed laughed nervously. "Of course! Hey does this window open?" I pressed the button, but it didn't go down "I think I'll throw myself into oncoming traffic."

The car became uncomfortably quiet and I looked out the window, trying to stop blushing. I pressed the button a few more times and the window finally rolled down, which was useless since I no longer had the desire to throw myself into traffic.

Finally, after the silence became unbearable, I pulled a pen out of my pocket, only to have Alfred grab it. I lunged at him. "Alfred! Give it back!"

He smirked at me, rolled his window down and chucked it out. He turned back, a smug smile on his face.

I gaped at him. "What the hell was that for? You jerk!" Grabbing his backpack, I turned to the open window and threw it out.

"Hey!" Alfred yelled "What was that for?"

"Payback!" I hissed, glaring at him

"Hey!" Arthur snapped "You guys better behave! Don't make me come back there!"

"He threw my pen out the window!"

"She threw my backpack out the window! The hero needs his stuff!"

"Alfred, please don't use that ridiculous nickname." Arthur muttered and put the car into reverse "We'll get your bag."

Alfred got out, grabbed his bag and jumped back in, sticking his tongue out at me. I rolled my eyes and turned away from him. _And people tell me _I'm _immature!_

Another silence fell and stayed until we got into the school parking lot. Arthur drove up to the drop off area. When we got there, Arthur pulled into the circle (as I'd come to call the drop off area in my head) and let us out.

"I'll pick you up at three, as usual." Arthur said to Alfred and Matthew

"They could walk home with us." I blurted out, before either could reply or I'd thought of a better way to word the suggestion. I slapped a hand over my mouth and blushed.

Everyone stared at me.

"I mean, if you want to..." I mumbled, looking at my feet _Man, I suck at this today._

"Ok."

I looked up. Alfred was nodding excitedly and smiling like an idiot.

Arthur smiled slightly. "Ok... then I guess I'll see you when you get home."

He peeled away from the curb and disappeared in the line of cars. The four of us formed a mini mob and went inside.

_**Time skip**_

The bell rang and I bounced on the balls of my feet. I hadn't grabbed my hoodie this morning and it looked like it was going to rain. People began streaming out of the school, most complaining about the amount of homework they had. Some were smiling and laughing with friends, they could only talk at the end of the day.

"Person!" a voice called

I looked over at Brittany and smiled. "Hey person."

"I thought _I _was person." Michael said, walking over

"No, you're 'it.'" I muttered

"Well, you're the dark one." he replied

"I thought _you _were the dark one." I countered

"Dudes!" another voice yelled

All three of us looked over and I cringed. Alfred was waving his arms wildly, trying to get our attention. _Are we completely sure he's the hero?_

Matthew wove through the crowd and stopped once he was next to us. "So..."

I giggled. "He's the hero, huh?"

Alfred walked over, his eyes wide. Jumping up and down, he began talking about everything that had happened during the day and how he thought our gym teacher was weird.

"Alfred..." Brittany muttered, her voice revealing the fact that she wished he would shut up

I couldn't agree more, though I didn't say it out loud. _Alfred, you need to shut up now. If you don't... _The thought literally just ended. I paused and stared at the ground, trying figure out exactly what I would do if he kept talking.

Thankfully, he stopped and we were able to leave. Alfred would run ahead, then come back complaining that we were 'too slow' and that we needed to pick up the pace, because he was apparently going to miss his show if we didn't.

I rolled my eyes and trailed behind him. He grabbed Brittany's hand and dragged her with him. Other than that, the walk was silent.

We got to Brittany's corner and stopped. Normally Brittany and I would've been talking the entire walk and would stand here for at least half an hour just talking. Being around other people was awkward, even if it was just Alfred and Matthew.

Brittany tried to make conversation but it was all in vain. "We could go to the park." she said a few fruitless attempts to start a discussion

Matthew shrugged. Alfred began jumping up and down again. "Ya! Let's go!" he took off across the street.

"Does he even know where the park is?" I asked

"Probably not." Brittany muttered, following "Come on, we better make sure he doesn't hurt himself."

Something on the ground caught my eye and I leaned down to get a closer look. I smiled. "Hey look! My pen."

Matthew smiled and followed Brittany across the street. I got up and ran after them.

We ended up having to drag Alfred away from some random house that had an american flag painted on the garage door. He proclaimed it "the coolest, most awesome, most amazing damn thing in the whole neighborhood."

We finally got to the park. Alfred wasn't impressed.

"This place is for kids!" he yelled

"Which means it's perfect for you." I muttered, a memory of Matthew telling me something about him poking at the back of my mind again.

Brittany walked to the swings, dropped her bag by the pole and began swinging. Alfred ran to the climbing area and started shooting at invisible people. It looked like he was trying to reenact a video game.

I sat in the shade of a tree near the playground and pulled out a book.

"I'm going to go get Arthur, so he doesn't freak out." Matthew said

I looked up. "Alright."

"Don't be gone long." Brittany yelled from the swings

He walked away. I looked over at Alfred, waiting for him to say something. He was still play fighting, only he'd changed to a sword instead of a gun.

I sighed and went back to my book, shaking my head.

"Hey, where'd Mattie go?" Alfred asked a few minutes later

I slammed my book shut and glared at him. "Really? Did you not hear him say he was going to get Arthur?"

"He went where?" Alfred asked, still sword fighting the slide.

I grit my teeth, growled in the back of my throat and went back to my book, my hands shaking. "Never mind."

"Ok." Alfred replied happily, jumping off the slide

I bit my tongue and clenched my hands into fists. _Don't punch him. Punching people is bad. No matter how much they deserve it._

Brittany jumped off the swing and got on the seesaw.

"Be careful!" a voice yelled

I looked over my shoulder to see Matthew and Arthur, walking across the field. Arthur was staring worriedly at Brittany.

_But why would he be worried about Brittany? _My eyes widened and I looked at my lap as something else occurred to me. _How did he know how to get to Brittany's this morning?_

I felt someone tap my shoulder and looked up. Matthew stood in front of me, giving a look that said there was something really important that he needed to say.

"Can we talk?" he asked

I nodded, got up and followed him to the other side of the park. "So what's up?"

He scratched the back of his neck. "Um... w-what do you think of Arthur?"

I tilted my head to the side. I hadn't been expecting him to ask me about Arthur. "He seems ok. Why?"

"Um... well..."

"Matthew...?"

"Arthur was Brittany's imaginary friend when she was little!" he blurted out

"Huh." I paused to the fact sink in. "Well that explains a lot."

Matthew looked shocked. "You're not surprised?"

I shrugged. "Matthew, _you _were my imaginary friend when I was little and you just magically appeared back in my life seven years after you left it. The only thing that would surprise me at this point was if you told me you could turn into a dragon. And that would be amazing."

He smiled slightly. "Well, sorry to disappoint you but that's not an ability I possess."

I bit my lip. Finally I took a deep breath and asked him the question I'd dying to ask for almost a week. "Matthew, are you imaginary?"

He looked away. "I suppose that's a matter of opinion."

"Do you still have Kuma?" I asked

He looked at me in confusion. "What?"

Suddenly, something fuzzy attached itself to my leg and I looked at my ankle. A squeal escaped my mouth as I saw the bear in question.

Picking him up, I hugged him and smiled. "You're so cute!"

Matthew chuckled and took him from me, starting to walk away.

"No..." I whimpered and ran after him


	16. None of you seem to care

**To the reviews!**

**Just obsessed: ... I'm not sure how to respond to that... *throws fudge at you***

**pinkittwice54: Wait what? You ship what? *throws cookie dough at you* I'm so confused.**

**MagicRose37: Yup, kuma. Isn't he adorable? *throws ice cream at you***

**To the story! **

(Matthew's P.O.V)

"So, how are you and Alfred related again?" Maddy asked, glaring at Alfred as he dragged Brittany from structure to structure on the park equipment.

"He's my brother." I replied. For some reason, the way she'd asked the question made me uneasy. It almost seemed like she already knew the answer and hated it.

She pursed her lips and looked away. "You mean the one that's always ignoring you?"

"What?" I glanced at her "What's that supposed to mean?"

She shook her head. "Nevermind."

Alfred ran over and plopped on the ground, a smile spreading across his face. "That was awesome! Right, dudette?"

Brittany was breathing heavily and looked like she wanted to disagree with him. "S-sure."

I rolled my eyes and pet Kuma. He squirmed out of my lap and crawled onto Brittany's. She squealed and ran a hand over his back. "You're so cute."

I smiled and watched as the girls started chattering and petting Kuma. He didn't seem to mind the attention, in fact at one point, he rolled onto his back and let them give him a belly rub. Brittany squealed again and cuddled him, smiling all the while.

Alfred started chatting along with them, waving his arms to prove his point. He smacked me in the face and I lurched back, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Ow."

"Oops." Alfred said "I didn't mean to."

"Well, then maybe you should pay more attention to Matthew." Maddy hissed "He _is _your brother after all."

I cringed and let go of my nose. "It's fine."

No one payed any attention. They were too busy arguing.

"It's not my fault you're a self centered jerk who can't even be bothered to pay attention to his own family!" Maddy snapped

"What?" Alfred yelped "What the hell is that supposed to mean? Mattie doesn't mind, right?"

"How would you know!? You never even look at him!" Maddy sighed in annoyance, got up and started walking away "I need to get home."

"Maddy." Brittany called

I got up and ran after her. "Maddy!"

"What?" she snapped, turning and glaring at me

I stopped. "Why are you so upset about this? It's not a big deal."

She rolled her eyes and looked away. "Because, you always used to tell me that it wasn't polite to ignore people."

"You're basing this off something I said when you were little?"

"He's your brother Matthew! And it's not just him. It's Arthur too!"

"It's not a big deal." I said

She sighed and shook her head. "Practice what you preach Matthew. I need to go." she turned and walked away.

I exhaled and went back to where Brittany and Alfred were. Arthur had left a while ago, saying something about having to make sure Francis didn't burn the house down. Sighing, I sat down and rubbed my forehead. _Why does she have to be so stubborn?_

"Trouble in paradise Canadia?" Alfred asked

I elbowed him in the ribs. This was not the time to call me that.

Brittany looked confused. "What? Why did you call him that?"

"Nothing, it's nothing." I said, before Alfred could say some other stupid thing and give away our secret.

She didn't look convinced, but she shrugged it off and got up. "I need to go too. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Once she was out of hearing range, I turned to Alfred and glared at him. "Did you really have to call me that? That was the worst timing ever."

"It's not she suspects anything." he replied, getting up

"That's not the point!" I snapped, standing and grabbing his arm "No one knows who we really are and we're trying to keep it that way."

"How do you know people wouldn't think being a country would be cool?" Alfred asked

I grit my teeth. "I don't, but that's not something to experiment on. And whether people would think us being countries is cool or not isn't-"

"Isn't the point, ya I know." he said, cutting me off "God, you and Arthur lately. So concerned about the _slim _possibility that someone'll find out we're countries."

I shook my head and gave up. He clearly wasn't as worried as the rest of us. I pulled my phone out and sent a quick text.

_It's immature to walk away from an argument because you don't want to hear a second opinion on the issue._

Maddy replied in seconds. _So is running away from and ignoring the truth just because you don't want to hear or accept it._

I sighed and closed the conversation. What had happened to the little girl who was so level headed and really had to be pushed to get angry? Now it seemed that the tiniest things would set her off.

I shook my head. _She's grown up. She's almost an adult. It's not like she was going to stay the same way forever._

We got home and I glanced at Arthur. He was sitting on the couch, drinking tea.

"Did you boys have fun?" he asked

Alfred nodded. "Oh ya! It was great!"

"Except for the fact that you almost gave away our secret." I muttered

Arthur looked up, his eyes wide with worry. "You did what? What happened?"

"He said something while Brittany was around." I replied, not wanting to go into detail "I'm going to bed." I started up the stairs

"Matthew?" Arthur grabbed my arm "What really happened?"

Alfred ran up the stairs, pushing past me and stepping on my foot. I winced and slumped against the wall.

"Nothing." I said at last, clenching my hands into fists and resting them on my legs "Nothing happened. It's fine."

"I don't believe you." he muttered

I sighed in annoyance and grit my teeth. "Well now I know where you always used to disappear to."

He let go of me and stared at me in confusion for a minute. When the realization dawned on him, his eyes narrowed and he returned my glare. "You can't say anything. You left in the middle of meetings just as often."

"It's not like any of you noticed when I left." I snapped "You were all too busy arguing to realize I was gone. And even when you weren't arguing, you still didn't notice."

"Matthew, we-"

I stomped up the stairs. "I'm going to bed."


	17. Movie night

**I'm sorry this took so long. My "creativity" just wasn't working. But, summer just started so hopefully, I'll be able to update more often. But I also have to watch my sister most days, so no promises. To the reviews!**

**The Monster inside of Me: I know. It's sad that they all ignore him. *throws cake at you***

**MagicRose37: Wait what? What are we smiling about? *throws fudge at you***

**To the story!**

(Maddy's P.O.V)

"So, what's up?" Brittany asked

I shrugged. "Nothing."

She gave me a look that said she didn't believe me. "What's going on between you and Matthew?"

I gulped. "Nothing. Everything's fine."

She speared me with a _don't-lie-to-me-I'm-your-best-friend-and-I-know-you-better-then-that_ look. "Maddy, something's obviously wrong, you've been ignoring him for the past two weeks."

I bristled. "I have _not _been ignoring him! I'm not Alfred!"

In fact, I hadn't been ignoring him. I'd been saying 'hi' when we saw him and I actually acknowledged his existence, unlike Alfred.

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, then you've been refusing to talk to him. Which _still _means something's wrong. What happened?"

"Nothing," I said, shifting uneasily from foot to foot. Was is _that _obvious that we'd gotten into an argument? Or more accurately, that I'd gotten pissed and hadn't let him defend his position on the subject?

"Well-"

"Hey dudettes!" a voice that could clearly be identified as Alfred's yelled, cutting her off

We both looked up and I groaned. "Hey Alfred..."

He ran up, grinning like an idiot. "You dudes wanna come over for a movie night?"

Brittany and I exchanged a look. "I'm not sure if I can..." she started

"I have to study." I lied, zipping my backpack up

Alfred looked crestfallen. "But it's friday. Your teachers actually gave you homework?"

I nodded, pressing my lips together. He seemed to be buying it so far. _This might actually work!_

Brittany punched my shoulder. "No you don't! You just told me that you didn't have any homework because you got it done during study hall."

I scowled at her. "How could you do this to me?"

She rolled her eyes. "Well you don't."

I sighed, pulled my phone out and tapped the screen. "Fine! I'll see if I can come."

Alfred smiled slightly and turned to Brittany. "You have to come too, dudette!"

She exhaled. "Alright." she pulled her phone out, tapped the screen a few times then looked at Alfred. "Ok, but I need to go home to pack."

His smile got bigger and he hugged her. "Yay!"

My phone finally decided to cooperate and I opened my messages. _Hey mom, a friend wants to do a movie night at his house. Can I go?_

My phone beeped a few moments later. _It would be good for you. You wouldn't be sitting inside alone all night. Sure._

I grit my teeth and tried not to scream. "She said yes, but I need to stop by my house to grab some stuff too."

Alfred started jumping up and down. "Yes!"

"Where's Matthew?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant as I looked around

"I'm here." he said, running up to the little pack we'd formed "I was returning a book to the library."

"Let's go!" Alfred yelled, running away from us and outside

_I regret agreeing to this._

_**Time skip**_

I sighed and shoved some clothes into a bag, wondering if it was too late to back out and say that I couldn't come. At the same time, I didn't want to leave Brittany alone with Alfred.

Someone knocked on the door. _Why won't the world just leave me alone? Let me wallow in self-pity for ever agreeing to this, damn it._

I picked up the trash bag I'd shoved everything into, walked to the front door and opened it. "Hey Matthew."

"H-hey." he replied

I locked the door, stepped out and closed it. "So..."

"Uh, w-we should get going." he turned and walked away

"Does Brittany remember Arthur?" I asked, adjusting the position of my bag

He shook his head. "No, that's why it's so hard for him to be around you guys. He wants to protect her and make sure she's safe, but he doesn't want to seem weird."

I froze. "One of us actually followed the rules? Dang it Brittany! Why'd you have to be a good child and forget about Arthur?"

Matthew stared at me. "What?"

"She followed the rules and forgot about him and now it's all awkward for everyone!"

"You followed the rules when you were little..."

"Well ya, but I remember you! I decided to be a rebel, for once in my life and she had to go and forget him!"

Matthew blinked, looked away and started walking again. I followed him, still contemplating the whole matter in my head.

"What movie are we going to watch?" I asked after a few minutes

"Alfred said something about watching finding nemo." Matthew replied, shoving his hands in his pockets

"Finding nemo?" I repeated in confusion

"It was either that or oculus and he refuses to watch that one." he explained

"Why? It's such a good movie." I muttered

"He scared of ghosts." he responded

I rolled my eyes. "Really? I got over that fear a long time ago."

Matthew shrugged. "That's Alfred for you."

After a few more minutes of walking in silence, we turned a corner onto their street and Matthew led the way to their house. When we got inside, I stood awkwardly at the door. _This is always the worst part of going over to someone's house. _

"Maddy, stop being so anti-social." Brittany said, walking over, grabbing my arm and dragging me toward the couch

"B-but I haven't taken my shoes off." I muttered, attempting to pry her hand off

"You're not even trying that hard, are you?" she asked

I shook my head. "Nope."

She rolled her eyes. "Why do you take so much crap from me?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Why do I?"

"I don't know! I just asked you that." she replied

Alfred started laughing loudly and I rolled my eyes. "It wasn't _that _funny."

"Oh, hello girls."

I looked past Alfred and waved at Arthur. "Hi."

Brittany smiled and waved at him. Pain flashed in his eyes. but he smiled at us anyway.

"I, uh, didn't realize you were coming over." he muttered

"Alfred invited us." Brittany explained "I thought he'd asked you..."

Arthur shook his head and sent Alfred an annoyed look. "This is the first I'm hearing of this."

"Well, then I guess that means we can't stay." I said loudly, grabbing Brittany and dragging her toward the door "So sorry to intrude. Bye!"

"No, no!" Arthur yelled "It's fine."

I stopped and sighed. _Damn it. So close._

Brittany yanked her arm of my grasp and sat on the couch again. Alfred put the movie in, started it, then ran off yelling something about getting snacks. He reappeared about ten minutes later, arms full of candy, soda and a bowl of popcorn balanced precariously on his shoulder.

Setting everything down on the table, he jumped on the couch and started chewing loudly on handfuls of popcorn. We all crowded around, sharing the bowl and occasionally having to fence for it using pillows. But that was mostly Brittany and I.

The barracuda scene came on and Alfred jumped, screaming about how the fish was going to get him and spilling the popcorn in the process.

"Alfred!" Brittany, Matthew and I said in unison

I rolled my eyes and picked popcorn out of my hair, annoyance creeping in on me. "You're so immature." I mumbled, wondering how he and Matthew could be related. It just didn't seem possible.

We continued the movie, commentary being thrown in when someone thought that something that had happened was stupid. My phone vibrated and I looked at it, my smile fading when I saw the caller ID.

_Why does he have to call me now?_

I got up, walked outside and stared at my phone for what seemed like forever, trying to decide whether or not to answer. My phone decided for me, having reached its designated number of rings and sent my dad to voicemail.

I sighed and sat down, my knees pulled up to my chest. What little enjoyment I'd been getting from this event, was drained.

_He always calls at the most annoying times. Why does he do this to me?_

I grit my teeth and stared at the other end of the street. Maybe if I stayed out here long enough, everybody would forget I was here and I could go home.

"Are you ok?"

_So much for that plan._

I looked over my shoulder at Matthew and shrugged. "I don't know."

He sat next to me and looked at my phone, which was still clenched in my fist. "Who was it?"

I sighed. "My dad."

"Oh." he paused "I'm assuming from your reaction that your relationship with him hasn't gotten any better."

I shook my head. "No, it's been months since I last saw him and to be honest, I'm not even sure if I _want _to see him."

A long silence followed and I shifted, wondering if I could backtrack, lie and tell him everything was fine. I doubted it, but I was going to try.

"Anyway," I started, standing and turning toward the door "We should go back inside. Everything's fine."

"No it's not." Matthew replied

"How do you know?" I asked, sitting back down

"Because I know you."

"Do you?" I hissed, my irritation started to come back

"What happened to you?" he asked, shaking his head "You used to be so level-headed. People would literally have to push you to get you angry and eve then, you wouldn't do anything."

"Did you ever think that maybe I didn't do anything because I knew you wouldn't like it?" I snarled

Matthew gaped at me. "What?"

My voice dropped to a whisper and I could feel tears pressing against the back of my eyes. "I never did anything because you were always so nice to people. Whenever I got angry and get back at someone, you'd always have this disappointed look on your face. You were my role model. I wanted to be _just like you. _Even if it meant taking the insults and not doing anything to retaliate. I didn't want to disappoint you."

He didn't respond for a while. "You... wanted to be like me? Why?"

"Because you were always such a nice person." Suddenly, he hugged me and I froze, not quite sure how to respond.

Matthew looked down at me. "When did you grow up?"


	18. Well the truth is-

**Sorry this chapter took so long. I have to watch my sister most days this summer and I've had writer's block for this story. Anyways... To the reviews!**

**Calistrophia: Oh no, another one. Why must the feels be so dangerous? And painful? *throws fudge at you***

**To the story!**

(Matthew's P.O.V)

As usual, I woke up before everyone else. Kuma squirmed and stretched, looking at me through half closed eyes. I yawned and got up. _Might as well make breakfast._

Mixing the batter, I poured some onto the pan and waited for the side to cook. As Kuma slowly paced back and forth across the counter, I found my thoughts drifting back to what Maddy had told me last night.

_I wanted to be just like you. _Why had she wanted to be like me? Why would anyone want to be like me?

_You were my role model. _Out of all the people people she could've chosen to be her role model, she'd chosen me. Why had she done that? It wasn't like I was all that special.

_Nice going Matthew. You spend five years with a little girl acting like her big brother/father and then she decides that you're her role model. _

I supposed I should be flattered.

_Right, _should _be. _

"Morning Matthew."

I turned and saw Maddy sitting on the floor, rubbing the corner of her eye. "Morning. Sleep well?"

She nodded, reached forward and pet Kuma. "You're making pancakes."

I nodded. "Yeah, I figured people would be hungry once they woke up." I flipped the pancakes and got a plate out for when they were done.

"Matthew, can I ask you something?" she asked

"Of course." I replied, turning to face her

"Why did you stay?" she mumbled, looking at the counter "That day when we met. Why'd you stay?"

My mind went blank. Even though I wanted to tell her the truth, I didn't want to offend her. I may have known her when she was little, but I wasn't quite sure how to handle her now that she'd grown up.

"Uh... well, because you-" I started

"And don't tell me it was because I asked you to." she said, cutting me off

I sighed. "Fine. I stayed because I didn't trust your mother."

She blinked and shrugged. "Ok."

I stared at her. "Ok? You're not offended?"

She shook her head. "Why didn't you trust her?"

I sighed in annoyance. "She left you alone in a corn maze. You couldn't go into a maze without freaking out after that. And when we got out, she didn't seem to care. She yelled at you and told you not to run off like that."

Maddy looked away. "Well, that's true..."

"And you're ok with this?" I said hesitantly

She nodded. "Even if I wasn't, it's not like there's anything I could do about it."

I took the pancakes out of the pan and poured new ones. "Ok..."

Brittany walked into the kitchen. "Morning."

"Morning." I replied

"Whatcha making?" she asked, peering over my shoulder

I took a small step away and shrugged. "Pancakes."

She nodded. "Pancakes are good. Should I wake Alfred up?"

I shrugged again. "He likes his sleep. At this point, waking him up would probably end with you getting punched in the face."

She shrugged. "I'm used to getting hit with things. Maddy threw her lunchbox at me in seventh grade."

I looked at her sharply. "What?"

"I said hi and she freaked out and threw her lunchbox at me."

"I didn't mean to hit you." Maddy muttered "You startled me and you know when I get startled, I throw whatever's in my hand. Unless it's important or valuable."

I laughed. "You never did that to me when you were little."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

As if our conversation had called him, Alfred stumbled into the kitchen, spilling water all over the floor and earning annoyed shoves from the girls.

"There's coffee." I said, flipping another pancake and looking over my shoulder, waiting for him to drop and break something.

Once everyone had gotten drinks and food, we all piled onto the couches, plates balanced on our knees. After breakfast, the girls got ready and left.

_**Time skip: Monday**_

"This is lame!" Alfred complained "I want to go to sleep! Who likes having gym first thing in the morning anyway?"

I rolled my eyes, finished changing and walked out to the gym. Seeing Brittany, I went up to her and tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey."

She turned and smiled at me. "Hey Matthew. Have you seen Maddy?"

I shook my head. "I was about to ask you that."

"You two are so unobservent. I'm right here."

We both turned around and Maddy stalked over, her eyes narrowed and sleepy.

Brittany chuckled. "Says the girl who didn't notice the tape on the lamppost outside her house for two years."

"Shut up." Maddy muttered, grabbing Brittany's arm and dragging her toward the locker room. "We still have to change."

After they'd changed, the girls came back out and we all sat in a circle, talking about random things, until the coach came and told us to go to our spots.

We all sat down and listened as the coach rambled on and took attendance. Finally he put his clipboard down and looked at us all like we were bugs or something even more squishable.

"Yoga." he said "Get mats."

Everyone got up, grabbed either a green or purple yoga mats and pushed into another room. Laying out their mats, everyone said hi to the instructor and got started.

Truthfully, I didn't remember the names of most of the stretches we did. A lot of people (including Alfred) laughed and fell. The coach kept yelling at them and threatening to send them to detention.

Of course, those kids didn't listen. Why would they? Everyone thought coach was just joking.

He wasn't.

Alfred and five other kids got detention.

Everyone shut up and did the stretches after that. Coach still wasn't impressed, he kept going on about survival and how we needed to know how to do yoga because it would help in life.

I think I only learned one thing from the yoga session.

_Coach was insane!_

The bell rang and people immediately got up, sprinting out of the room. I followed the crowd, quickly spotting Brittany and Maddy sliding across the floor in sock feet, their shoes gripped in their hands.

They rounded a corner and I heard them go, "Whee!"

Suddenly, there came a yelp. "Brittany, don't stop like that!"

"Well, sorry that there was a wall!" Brittany yelled back

I chuckled and pushed into the locker room.

_And they say they're mature. I suppose everyone has their childish moments._


	19. so we can't protect ourselves?

**To the reviews!**

**Just Obsessed: Yes, yes it can. It usually is. *throws cupcakes at you***

**To the story!**

(Maddy's P.O.V)

"Do we have everything?" I asked Brittany as I threw my duffel bag into the truck bed.

"I think so." She replied, sliding out of the passenger seat and dropping her bag next to the sleeping bags, cooler and pop up shade.

My stepdad came out of the house and pointed at me. "You get one scratch on the truck and I'll-"

"I won't get a scratch on it." I promised, "But I still don't understand why we can't take the four-runner. We got it fixed."

"Because I'm not sure how well it'll do on the trails. Besides it's a new car." he said

I looked away, deciding to drop the subject. The four-runner wasn't even close to being new. It had been made in 1993 and I'd gotten it from my father two years earlier, those weren't qualities of a new car.

"Have fun." my stepdad went back in the house and I closed the tailgate.

"Let's go before my mom gives us our tenth lecture about safety." I muttered

Brittany didn't say anything, but got into the passenger seat and closed the door. I started the truck and we left the parking lot.

"Do you need anything else from your house?" I asked

She shook her head. "Nah, I've got everything."

"Great, that means we can just g-"

"Hey! Are you dudettes going camping?" a voice yelled

We both groaned. "Alfred..."

"So are you?" he asked

"What are you doing here?" I mumbled, resting my forehead on the steering wheel

"OH, Iggy thought we should come see you two!" he replied

"I told you not to call me that!" Arthur snapped, pushing Francis out of the way and standing between Alfred and Matthew.

_Where did you all come from?_

"Seriously though dudettes, are you going camping?" Alfred asked, surveying the stuff in the truck bed.

"Does it look like we are?" I hissed

Oblivious to my mood, Alfred started jumping up and down. "Can we come with you?"

None of them listened to our protests or our claims that we could handle ourselves.

"It wouldn't be safe for the two of you to go alone." Arthur argued "So we shall be gentlemen and go with you."

I sighed and looked at Brittany. "What did we do to deserve this?" It was obvious that we weren't going to be able to talk the four of them out of coming.

After a few more minutes of arguing and someone honking at me, the guys ran off, yelling at us to meet them at their house. We sat there for a minute and finally, I pushed the gas to move us forward a bit. "So who do you think is going to die first?"

"Depends on the situation." Brittany said

As we pulled into the driveway, I sighed. _I don't want to go camping anymore._

_**Time skip**_

"Alfred, I'm really not comfortable with you driving." I said, gripping the assist handle so hard my knuckles were turning white and trying not to fall on Francis.

"Chill out dudette!" he replied, accelerating and looking over his shoulder as we went down a hill. "This isn't even your car."

"That's why I'm uncomfortable with you driving!" I snapped, reaching forward and hitting the back of the head.

"Ow! Dudette! What the hell?"

"Swear jar." Brittany said, clinging to Arthur's arm.

"Brittany, I don't think Alfred knows what I swear jar is." we hit a series of bumps and I could hear the sound of metal grinding against the rocks. "I don't think he knows how to drive safely either!"

We hit yet another bump and I thought I saw my life flash before my eyes. Alfred zoomed down a hill, my heart went in my throat and I closed my eyes instinctively.

_He's going to get us all killed. _

**I couldn't think of something to write after this, but don't worry, the camping trip will continue in the next chapter. Will they all die? You'll have to stick around and see.**


	20. we thought camping was a good idea why?

**To the reviews!**

**Just obsessed: XD And I thought no one would do that. *throws cookies at you* I was waiting for that.**

**To the story!**

(Maddy's P.O.V)

"Cherie, that is a terrible fashion statement!" Francis yelled at me from across the fire.

"Oh shut up." I growled, stomping across the campsite, my feet covered in white socks and sandals. Yes, I was wearing socks and sandals. And the only person who had a problem with it was the crazy, glittery, perverted frenchman.

I jerked the door of the truck open and grabbed my sneakers, quickly changing into them. I'd meant to put them outside the tent the night before but had forgotten because of how late it had been.

_Four hours in a car with Alfred and all we can find for a campsite is as far away people as you can get and I'm being yelled at about my footwear. I wonder if I'll survive this trip without murdering someone._

I yawned, got up, closed the door then went by the fire. Everyone else was already there and sipping coffee. Except for Arthur, who was drinking tea. "Hey Francis?"

He looked up at me. "Oui, cherie?"

"Don't call me that."

He chuckled. "Do you even know what that means cherie?"

What little patience I had left immediately vanished. "Ne me appeler comme ça, espèce de pervers pailleté!" **(Don't call me that, you glittery pervert!)**

Everyone stared at me, but no one looked more surprised than Francis and Matthew.

"You speak french?"

I sighed. "Yes, it's one of the requirements to graduate."

"Speaking french?" Alfred asked

Brittany and I both facepalmed. "No, but learning a language is and french is one of the ones our school offers. Brittany's taking spanish. She's really good at it too. Of course, it probably helps that half her family speaks spanish. Too bad I can't understand a word they're saying."

Brittany crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at me. "I told you that you should take spanish, but noo, you decided to take french."

"It was my decision Brittany."

"Well if you had taken spanish, you would know what I'm saying when I yell at you."

"I'm not sure I want to know what you're saying."

"At least I don't yell random food at people."

"Quiet you. They don't teach us actual insults."

"You could look it up."

"Yeah, but I'm too lazy to do that."

"I know."

"Oh. So your school requires you to take a language to graduate." was the only reply we got out of Alfred. I had a feeling he was just saying something before we got into an argument.

"Are you still on that?" Brittany and I asked in unison.

"Jinx." Brittany said.

Alfred looked down in embarrassment. "Um..."

_I wonder just how stupid he feels. Or if he feels stupid at all._

One look and I realized Alfred didn't feel stupid. He wasn't even paying attention anymore. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose.

_I can't believe I agreed to spend an entire weekend with these people. _

"You never told me you took french." Matthew said as everyone else got up and walked away to get dressed.

"You never told me you spoke french." I replied, not looking up or opening my eyes.

"What did you think I was speaking when I got irritated?"

"Like you ever actually got irritated. And anyway, did you think I was actually paying attention?"

"Well... no."

"Exactly," I said sitting up. "I was five, I never paid attention to important stuff like that. I still don't."

He chuckled. "I've noticed."

"Hey!" I smacked his shoulder. "You're mean."

"So what's for breakfast?" Alfred asked, running back over and plopping into a chair.

"You're actually hungry?" I muttered, shaking my head.

He nodded. "Of course! The hero is always hungry!"

_That explains a lot._

"I could make scones." Arthur offered, walking over and sitting in his chair.

"NO!" Francis, Alfred and Matthew yelled at the same time. Brittany and I exchanged confused looks then started giggling. Of course, their first response was to start arguing.

Brittany shook her head, pulled her notebook out and started writing. I rolled my eyes and started playing with my hair. Suddenly my fingers got caught and I had to wiggle them free. Reaching up to undo the knot, I started pulling the tangled strands apart and gasped. "Holy crap! Brittany feel my hair!"

She looked up and sent me a questioning stare. "Why?"

"Because it's really soft, feel it!"

She rolled her eyes then reached over and pet my head. "Holy crap. It _is _soft!"

I smirked at her. "I know!"

She continued to pet my head and write with the other hand. After a while she looked at the 'men' we were surrounded by. "Are they really still arguing?"

I nodded. "Yup."

"Are you going to make me stop petting you?"

"Nope."

"You just don't care?"

"Nope."

"Um... dudettes, why are you guys petting each other?" Alfred asked.

"We're not petting _each other._" I growled.

"She told me to feel her hair." Brittany said. "It's really soft."

Arthur sent us a weird look. "Is this something the two of you do often?"

"You make it sound like we're doing something strange or unnatural." I muttered, sitting up and raising an eyebrow at him. "I know about this diner that's really good."

No one could come up with a better idea, so that's where we ended up going. When we got back, not everyone was happy.

"I still think some scones would've been better." Arthur grumbled.

"If we had eaten your scones, we would've all gone to the 'ospital." Francis said, putting his hair into a ponytail.

I facepalmed. They'd been arguing about this ever since we'd left the restaurant and I didn't think it'd end anytime soon. Breakfast had been bad enough, considering I'd had to stab Alfred with a fork to get him to shut up and stop trying to steal and read Brittany's story. Of course, stabbing Alfred had led to a lecture from Matthew, which I'd heard a million times and didn't pay much attention to.

"At least I don't wear sparkly clothes!" Arthur yelled at Francis, who rolled his eyes.

"You're just jealous that I actually 'ave a sense of style!"

_They're arguing about clothes now? Why am I not surprised?_

Brittany started writing in her notebook and I made a mental note to ask her what the newest story was about. She'd started it this morning on the way to the diner and I hadn't gotten a chance to ask her about it yet.

"Cherie, you're spacing out again." Francis said, waving a hand in my face.

I grabbed his arm and moved it away from me. "Francis, call me that again and I swear, they'll never find your body."

"That's not intimidating cherie." he said, chuckling.

"I wouldn't test her if I were you," Brittany said, looking up from her notebook "She threatened to tear a guy's face of for calling her 'honey' a couple years ago."

I smiled nervously. "Oh yeah... I remember that."

Francis pulled his arm out of my grasp and walked away. He didn't call me 'cherie' after that though.

**Before anyone asks (I doubt you were going to anyway, but still), yes, the 'threatening to tear a guy's face off' thing did actually happen. **


	21. Remembering a painful past

**To the reviews!**

**Just Obsessed: You're the only one who reviews anymore. *throws cookie dough at you***

**To the story!**

(Maddy's P.O.V)

"I am a sloth." I said, clinging to the metal bar on the side of the bouncy bridge. After a moment, I let go and slid back onto the bridge. "I am not a sloth."

Brittany laughed, walked over and started jumping up and down.

"Noo..." I muttered, lifting my head a little so it wouldn't hit the plastic surface anymore. She stopped and sat on the other handrail, staring at me. I laid back down and she started jumping again. I groaned and sat up. "Are you having fun?"

"Yup." she walked over to the zipline and started going back and forth.

I laid down again and closed my eyes. "I want to be a cat."

"You can't be a cat."

"Why not?"

"Because you're a human."

"What if I don't want to be a human?"

"You don't have a choice."

"I bet Matthew would let me be a cat." I muttered, once again clinging to the guard rail.

"He's Matthew, of course he would."

"Of course I would what?"

Brittany and I both screamed and I let go of the guardrail, crashing to the ground. "Ow..." I curled into a ball, covering the back of my head with my hands. "Ow, ow, ow, ow... that hurt so bad!"

Brittany nudged my side with her toe. "Are you ok?"

I shook my head, but sat up anyway. "Does it look bad? Is it bleeding?"

She shook her head. "Now, why did you let go again?"

I shrugged. "Surprise. Fear? I don't know." I gingerly touched the back of my head and sucked a breath between my teeth, creating a hissing sound. "That really hurt. I feel stupid. Like Alfred during a sentimental moment stupid."

"Hey!" Alfred yelled.

I smirked. "I win."

_**Time skip**_

We were all sitting on the grass and listening to Alfred go on about how he'd beaten the highest level on his game the night before. There came a lull in the conversation and an idea popped in my head, which caused an evil smirk to grow on my face.

"What's the best murder weapon?" I asked innocently, waiting for reactions and answers.

"I think the best murder weapon would be a machine gun!" Alfred yelled, then imitated shooting said gun.

"You bloody american wanker," Arthur grumbled. "The best murder weapon would be poison. Fast acting, undetectable poison."

I frowned, realizing the conversation wasn't going where I'd wanted it to. "I was going to say an icicle."

They both stared at me, then said in unison, "Why?"

"Because they're sharp and deadly. And because once they melt, the police won't have a weapon or fingerprints to go on. Plus if you get rid of the body right, they won't have a corpse to analyze." I explained.

"It's scary that you could come up with that." Matthew muttered. "You know that they have satellites that look for body sized holes in the ground, right?"

"Well that's why you burn the body, then bury the ashes." I replied.

"It's actually really hard to burn a body." Arthur said. "Because of the bones."

"Why do you know that?" I asked uneasily, leaning away from him.

Before he could answer, Alfred jumped on him which started another argument and sent the conversation back into less terrifying territory.

Brittany and I ended up fencing with sticks, which Arthur eventually had to take away because we'd almost poed his eye out. Alfred started bugging Brittany which after a while, made her really uncomfortable, so I chased him around until he promised to stop.

As I sat back down, Matthew sighed. "I'm surrounded by children."

"I'm not _that _bad." I muttered, my side still hurting from laughing too much and chasing a guy who was obviously faster than me. "Besides, I'm less of a child than I used to be."

"I don't know about that."

"You can't expect me to be the same as when I was little."

"I don't know, you haven't grown up much in the past seven years."

"Hey!" I poked him in the shoulder, then looked away from him. "Brittany, Matthew's being mean!"

She wasn't even paying attention anymore. She simply stared at Arthur with a puzzled look on her face. The mood immediately became uncomfortable.

Suddenly, Brittany gasped, then jumped on Arthur and yelled, "Arthur! Why'd you leave me?"

We all tensed and Arthur looked confused. "Uh... w-what are you talking about?"

"When I was little! Why'd you leave?"

"You remember that!?" he squeaked, his eyes wide.

Brittany nodded. "I remember everything!"

**Ok, I don't want to sound like I'm fishing for compliments, but can you guys review? Is anyone actually reading this anymore? Do you guys have any suggestions or little scenes that you would like to see? What's your opinion on the story/chapter? I'm not saying you have to, but it's like there's nobody there. **


	22. Study session

**To the reviews!**

**c7a7t7: They don't get to choose the children. The children are supposed to forget about them once they leave, so the chances of them meeting again later in life are very slim. The parents can't see them because they've grown up and don't have childhood innocence anymore. Thank you for telling me about the traffic stats and I **_**do **_**enjoy reading my stories, it's just disheartening to have lots of people review at the beginning and then suddenly have them all disappear.**

**pinkittwice54: Because I decided you would remember. And the camping trip ended, then we came home and I just didn't feel like writing that. *throws Flying Mint Bunny and cake at you***

**Just obsessed: Yes, yes he is. *throws cookies at you* Lots of trouble.**

**Erza's Cake: I literally had no idea what to do for this chapter, so thank you for saying that you wanted to see a certain scene. I don't want to burst your bubble and I feel like Michael's not involved enough, but he wouldn't like Alfred. They wouldn't get along. *throws ice cream at you* Don't ever tell Michael that I feel like he's not involved in the story enough, he'll hold it ever me until the end of time.**

**Kittycat: Yes, I'm doing something right. *throws chocolate at you***

**To the story!**

(Maddy's P.O.V)

I grabbed my homework and put it on the ground by my feet, then stacked the rest of my books and folders on the floor of my locker. I slammed the door and leaned against it, then leaned down to grab my bag. _At least this day can't get any worse. _

Shoving my homework in my backpack, I zipped it and stood up, only to gasp and jump back, my heart beating rapidly. "Damn it Michael, don't do that!"

He rolled his eyes at me. "You mean stand near you?"

I couldn't think of a good response, so I pulled my book out of my bag and started hitting him with it. After a few minutes, he took my book and held it above his head.

"I refuse to jump." I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Then I guess you're not getting your book back." he began walking down the hallway and I followed, realizing he was going toward Brittany's locker. "Hey, did you finally watch the new _Once Upon a Time_?"

I growled and suddenly had the urge to hit something. "I wanted to hurt Zelena."

"I'm pretty sure everyone did."

We got to Brittany's locker and I poked her shoulder out of boredom. After she'd gotten her stuff, we made our way outside. Then I realized we were just standing there and Michael hadn't left, saying something about how we were insane yet.

"Why are you still here?" I asked him, thinking about how I wanted nothing more than to go home and take a nap.

"What, am I not allowed to stand here and talk to you guys?" he snapped.

"We're going to study at Arthur's, remember?" Brittany said, before an argument could explode between Michael and I, like they usually did.

I groaned and allowed my shoulders to droop as far as they could, then sighed. "Right." _Damn it, I wanted to just go home and take a nap._

Still muttering about the unfairness of the day, I poked Brittany. She sent me a look of fake annoyance. "How dare you? This means war!" she poked me back.

I gasped and head-butted her shoulder. "Retaliation."

Michael rolled his eyes at us, then put his earbuds in. I poked his shoulder until he took them out and glared at me. "What?"

"Have you ever tie-dyed a coffee filter with food coloring?"

He shook his head. "Why would I do that?"

"I did once and it looked like I killed someone." I started rambling. "The food coloring looked like blood and it was all over my hands. We had company over that night and I hadn't been able to get it off before they came over. That was a really awkward conversation."

"That's not how you do arts and crafts." Michael mumbled.

"You know nothing of the dark arts and crafts!" I yelled, just in time for Alfred to run out of the school, followed by a calmer, embarrassed looking Matthew. "Oh, hello." I said, licking my lips and blushing.

We all began walking, but before long Brittany and I had gotten bored and started poking each other. Michael made us stop and for a few minutes, we didn't do anything. Eventually, I slowly started moving my finger towards Brittany's shoulder.

She saw me out of the corner of her eye. "Don't you dare."

I poked her.

"You dared!" she yelled and head chopped me.

"Ow!" I whined and covered the top of my head with my hands.

"Did you really have to do that?" Michael asked.

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"Huhhhhhhhh, maddy, maddy, maddy, blah blah blah, arguing words, whatever." he muttered.

I rolled my eyes. "Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. That's all I hear coming out of your mouth."

"That's cause that's all I said." he snapped. "Mostly."

"No, that's just what I hear every time." I hissed.

"Then you're going deaf."

"Stop." Brittany said, stepping between the two of us.

"Stop what?" Michael asked in an "I'm completely innocent" voice.

"Never mind, we're being childish." I muttered, turning and walking away from him. "I, for one, would like be a mature adult."

Still grumbling, we all crossed the street and made our way down the sidewalk.

"What was that about?" Matthew asked me, a disappointed look on his face.

I sighed. "Nothing."

Another disappointed look.

I sighed again. "Michael and I argue sometimes, ok? We're human."

"But you guys weren't like that yesterday."

"Yeah, well, it really depends for us. One day, we'll be talking and acting like friends and the next, we'll be trying to tear each other's throats out. If it weren't for Brittany, we wouldn't even be friends."

Suddenly, I gasped and stopped, irritation slowing creeping in my head.

"What?" Matthew asked, looking concerned.

"I still have to make Michael his snake dragon." I groaned.

Matthew sent me a confused look. "Snake dragon? How long have you been planning to do this?"

"A few years..."

"And you've been putting it off because...?"

I blushed. "I don't have the clay I need."

_**Time skip**_

"I don't understand this problem."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Shut up Michael." I growled, going through the math problem once again.

"Need help dudette?"

"No, Alfred I'm fine." I muttered. "Where'd Brittany go?"

"She wanted to talk to Arthur." Alfred replied, staring at my notebook. After another minute of staring, he grabbed it and started scribbling across my problem.

"Hey!" I yelled, trying to get it back from him. "What the hell are you doing?"

He calmly handed it back and smirked at me. "There you go."

I looked at the problem, which he'd solved. I blinked and checked the back of the book. "How did you do that?" I asked. Why was it he could do a problem that I found challenging with ease? I knew I wasn't good at math, but still.

"It was pretty easy." Alfred replied. "Do you want me to show you how?"

I nodded and handed him my notebook. "Please."

We started going through a problem and surprisingly, Alfred put up with the fact that I interrupted him to question the method. By the time we'd gone through a few problems, I finally understood what I was supposed to do and finished my homework within a few minutes.

"Thanks Alfred."

"No problem dudette." he paused, then went on. "Does this mean you'll stop stabbing me with forks?"

"No."


	23. to IHOP!

**You have no idea how hard it was to write this chapter. I don't even know why it was so hard. Writer's block is awful...To the reviews!**

**Erza's Cake: I actually had a lot fun writing the last chapter. And yes, sorry to be a disappointment but Alfred and Michael wouldn't get along. Michael would complain about how obnoxious he is. Then again, there's almost no one that Michael likes, so... *throws cookie dough at you***

**To the story!**

(Matthew's P.O.V)

"Alfred, I swear if you eat that hamburger, you'll explode!"

"Whatever dudette."

"Alfred!" there came a yelp and the sound of something hitting a wall. "I told you not to eat the hamburger! Do you _want_ to explode?"

"Maddy, I doubt that a hamburger would make anyone explode." Brittany said

"How do you know? Did _you _read the book?"

"No, but I doubt anyone's actually tried putting bombs in hamburgers."

"That's the _point! _Now, the idea is out there! Someone could read the book and decide to try the belly bombs out for themselves to see if it would work!"

I walked down the stairs in time to see Brittany facepalm, Alfred pick up another burger and Maddy begin to rant.

"And you know, they never even _solved _the belly bomb case. They solved the problem with the serial killer, they solved the problem with the canadian pirates -and I _still _don't think they were canadian, but they never solved the belly bombs. They just left that with nothing. They never figured out if they had arrested the right person or if there were more bombs in the hamburgers."

"What about canadian pirates?" Alfred asked, smirking at me.

"Oh, there were these people that attacked a cruise ship and everyone thought they were canadian, but I refuse to believe they were." Maddy explained

"Why?"

"Because canadians wouldn't attack a boat, demand a three million dollar ransom and then kill people until they got said ransom. They're way too nice."

I blushed and looked away from the three of them.

"I'm hungry." Alfred piped up after a few minutes. "We should go to IHOP."

Both girls started squealing uncontrollably. "We totally should!" then, the three of them ran out the door.

That's how they ended up arguing over who got to drive.

"I'm older." Alfred argued, running his hand through his hair.

"It's _my_ car. Besides, I don't trust you not to crash it."

Alfred got a confused look in his eyes. "Whatever happened to that truck?"

"That belongs to my step dad. He only let us take that because we were going camping and the saturn wouldn't have done as well on the trails." Maddy muttered, looking away from him and unlocking the car.

We all piled in and started down the street. The closest IHOP was by the Petsmart in Superior. The drive was chaotic, as Alfred wouldn't stop messing with the radio and Maddy kept hitting him to try and get him to stop.

Brittany scribbled away in her notebook, only looking up from it occasionally. "Hey, Maddy, did I ever tell you about those theories?"

"What theories?"

"The ones about fictional characters."

"That so vague, but let's assume the answer is no."

Brittany sat up and flipped through her notebook. She stopped on a page and began reading it aloud. "Theory one: the reason a person might get so attached to a certain character is because that character is their soulmate in another dimension."

"That explains why I don't like any of the guys at school." Maddy replied with a chuckle.

"Theory two: 'I love you too, but you're real.'" Brittany continued.

It was a few minutes before anyone responded.

"I think my heart just died." Maddy muttered, pulling to a stop in front of the IHOP.

"I know, mine too." Brittany said, then started reading again. "Theory three: fictional characters know about our world and can read fanfictions about our lives."

"That one's a bit creepy."

"Imagine Kyo saying he loved you."

"No! We've been over this, he would hate me."

"Who's Kyo?" I asked, starting to get out of the car.

"A ginger who turns into a cat if he gets hugged by a girl." Brittany replied

Alfred laughed and Maddy began banging her head on the steering wheel.

"Wait, why would he hate you?"

"Because I would purposely hug him, just so I could turn him into a cat." she looked up and got out. "That, and I would force him to go play in the rain."

We all crowded into the restaurant, talking quietly and fidgeting. The hostess looked up at us and smiled. "Four?"

We all nodded.

"Right this way." she said in a pleasant tone that made me think she was being overly nice. She led us to a booth and handed out menus. "Can I get you started with something to drink?"

"Coke." Brittany and Alfred said in unison. He sent her a smile and realizing I hadn't been the only one to notice, I watched as Maddy's eyes narrow to slits.

The waitress looked at me expectantly. "C-coffee with maple syrup." I mumbled. She gave me a weird look when I mentioned the syrup, then shook her head, as if she'd heard stranger requests.

"Do you guys have pomegranate juice?"

"No."

Maddy scowled at the answer, then sighed. "Water then."

The waitress walked away, shaking her head again. Brittany excused herself and went off, soon disappearing around a corner. After a few minutes, the waitress returned with our drinks and after setting them on the table, disappeared again.

My phone rang and I pulled it out. I answered. "Hello?"

"Matthew, where are you?" Arthur asked.

"At IHOP."

"Is Alfred with you?"

"Yeah, he's right-" I looked at my brother only to see him leaning over the back of the booth, smiling at an approaching waitress.

"Hey sexy lady." he called to her as she passed our table.

"Who is he talking to?" Arthur asked.

"Um-"

The waitress slapped him, her eyes full of anger. As he sat down, she stormed away. He rubbed his cheek, only partially covering the bright red handprint.

"Put him on the phone." Arthur said.

I put Arthur on speaker and set my phone on the table. "Alright."

"Alfred, you shouldn't randomly flirt with every girl that walks by you."

"But-"

Arthur cut him off and began yelling at him even more. Alfred couldn't get a word in. By the time he was done, almost every person in our section was glaring at us from their own tables.

Finally, Arthur paused and took a deep breath. "I have to go. I have better things to do then lecturing you." he hung up.

A few minutes later, Brittany came back and sat down. "So what'd I miss?"

No one could stop laughing long enough to explain.


	24. discussions

**Sorry for the wait. I didn't feel like writing and then I didn't have any ideas for the chapter, so it just kinda sat in my drive for a while. To the reviews!**

**c7a7t7: Alright, I won't tell he was the only one who got it right. Because he wasn't. He didn't get to be an imaginary friend. *throws pie at you***

**To the story!**

(Maddy's P.O.V)

"Have you noticed how fragmented American values have become?" I muttered, poking Brittany in the shoulder and picking at one of my cuticles. Alfred and Matthew seemed content to walk silently behind us.

Brittany nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I know we started out with good intentions and ideals, but we don't follow those anymore."

"I wanna move to Canada." I stated, looking up at her. "You can leave your door unlocked and not have to worry about your house being broken into."

"That's great, but I would lock my door anyway, because I'm paranoid."

"Well me too." I gasped. "Speaking of Canada, guess what I found out."

Brittany raised an eyebrow at me. "What?"

"My aunt is french-canadian and has dual citizenship and she told me that next time she went back, she'd take me with her."

Brittany stared at me. "I wanna come."

I chuckled. "I'll ask her if you can."

We walked in silence for a few minutes, until Brittany looked up from her feet. "What were we talking about?"

I shrugged and stared at my hands, which still smelled like the school dark room, despite the fact that I'd washed them at least three times since photography.

"Oh right! How much this place sucks!"

I giggled, then sighed and sent her a depressed look. "We're learning about the experience of the Native Americans and I'm starting to hate Americans more than I already did."

Her expression immediately soured and she nodded. "I know, me too."

"We're awful people." I muttered.

"Technically, _we _didn't do it.."

"Not what I meant."

She sighed. "I know. People are always telling me that I shouldn't feel bad for what happened because we didn't do it. Our ancestors did, but I still feel bad anyway."

I nodded. "Me too."

"You know what bothers me about it?" she muttered "The fact that all the other countries have this certain thing that makes them unique and America isn't like that. We take a bunch of traditions and ideals from other countries and twist them into our own perception of them."

I nodded again. "Yeah."

"I mean, we _did _have something that was ours, which was the native americans, but then we killed them off and lost that. So we don't really have anything unique and special about our country anymore."

"What happened to the native americans was genocide." I muttered.

We stopped next to a building across the parking lot from my own and continued on our dark topic until Brittany looked up at a window. "Is that blood?"

I looked at the window she was staring at and nodded. "Window decals that are supposed to look like blood anyway."

She looked back at me. "You say that so casually."

I shrugged. "And?"

She flung her arms toward me in a what-the-hell gesture. "Ok, current topic being genocide and then I look up and see blood."

I shrugged again. "So?"

She sighed. "Nevermind."

I smirked at her, then turned to Matthew and Alfred, surprised that the latter hadn't made a comment about how great America was the entire time Brittany and I had basically been bashing it. He was probably the most patriotic person I'd ever met.

Neither of them looked how I'd been expecting them to.

Matthew's face had gone red and Alfred looked like a kicked puppy.

"Are you guys ok?"

Neither of them answered.


	25. You're what?

**Ugh, I haven't updated in weeks. I feel awful about it. Sorry for the long wait. I couldn't think anything to do for this chapter. To the reviews!**

**Just obsessed: Wait, was that a sad "aw?" I suppose it doesn't really matter. *throws brownies at you***

**c7a7t7: Yes, they still represent countries. That's part of the reason why they originally had to leave and why the children are supposed to forget about them. *throws pie at you***

**To the story!**

(Maddy's P.O.V)

"If you had the chance to become immortal, would you do it?" I asked Brittany, flopping onto her couch.

"No." she replied, sitting next to me.

"I forgot how comfortable your couch is." I mumbled, the subject of immortality pushed to the back of my mind. "I would totally sleep on this couch if I didn't have an actual bed."

"You _have_ slept on my couch."

"Oh yeah..."

We were silent for a few minutes, then I fell over. Brittany jumped to the side to avoid me and sent me a weird look.

"Sitting up is overrated." I said, looking up at her through the layer of hair that had covered my eyes.

She laughed, then rolled her eyes and went back to the fanfiction I'd apparently interrupted.

"Whatcha reading?" I asked, sitting up and peering over her shoulder. She looked at me, then flicked my forehead. "No." I whined and tried to boop her nose. She smacked my hand away and started trying to bat it away as I continued my attempts to boop her nose.

After a few minutes, I finally succeeded in booping her nose and as usual, her face morphed from one of annoyance and determination to one of sorrow and she began fake crying. I crossed my arms and stared at her until she looked up and realized I wasn't buying the act.

It was convincing enough, but I'd known her for years.

She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the front door being thrown open and Alfred bursting into the front hall.

"I'm here, what are your other two wishes?"

"America!" a voice that sounded like Arthur's yelled. "You can't just walk into people's houses!"

"I'm the United States of America, I do what I want!"

"I thought I raised you better!"

"He would've turned out much better in my 'ands Angleterre."

"Shut it, you bloody frog!"

_Angleterre?_

I did a quick translation in my head, then frowned and looked at Brittany. "Why did Francis just call Arthur 'England?'"

She shrugged. "Why Alfred call himself the United States of America?"

"But it's true!" Francis yelled. "Just look at Canada!"

Brittany and I exchanged a look, then got up and walked to the end of the hall and peeked around the corner. Arthur was the first to notice us.

"Oh hello... girls." he said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "How much of that did you happen to hear?"

Five minutes later we were all sitting on Brittany's couch and the men were blushing and wouldn't look at us. We sat in silence for a few minutes, until Arthur decided to break the silence and began what would become a ten minute explanation about why they'd just referred to each other using the names of various countries.

After he finished, we both just stared at him.

"You're countries?" I asked in disbelief, silently wondering when I'd gone insane, which mental institute I'd been checked into and why I'd been given drugs that were making me hallucinate.

"Technically, we're the personifications of countries." Arthur corrected.

"And every country has a personification?" Brittany asked.

Arthur nodded. "Well, Italy has two actually."

Brittany and I exchanged another look. "Which countries are you?" she asked, though I had a feeling we both knew which ones they were.

"I'm America!" Alfred yelled. "I'm the hero!"

_I kind of saw that one coming._

"I'm assuming you're England," I said, staring at Arthur. "Since, Francis called you Angleterre."

He nodded and looked around. I poked Matthew's shoulder. "Matthew, which country are you?"

He looked at his lap and hugged Kuma. "I'm Canada."

I blinked and stared at him. After a minute, he looked at me. "What?"

"So many things just started to make sense."

"I'm assuming you represent France." Brittany muttered. I looked at her and Francis, who simply started laughing.

"But of course, cheri!" he laughed again and warning bells began to go off in my head. I grabbed the blanket on the armrest, wrapped it around myself and huddled closer to Matthew.

"Do you have any superpowers?" Brittany asked them.

"Well duh!" Alfred yelled, jumping off the couch, grabbing one of the corners and lifting it up.

Brittany and I both shrieked out of terror and surprise and clung to the couch.

"Alfred, put the couch down!" Arthur/England snapped.

He did, but Brittany and I continued to cling to the couch. I didn't know what she was thinking, but I was convinced he was going to pick it up again when we were vulnerable.

Eventually, it became apparent that he didn't plan on picking the couch up again, so I let go of it and sat up.

Brittany turned to Matthew. "Do you have any powers?"

He looked away, then squeezed Kuma again. "The power of invisibility." he mumbled and my heart started to hurt.

"Me too!" Brittany said.

Matthew looked up at her. "Really?"

She shook her head. "Nah, I'm just that great of a ninja."

I facepalmed.


	26. Who are you?

**I'm so sorry for not updating sooner. I just have not been in the mood to write lately. To the reviews!**

**Just obsessed: I know, he's so cute! *throws cake at you***

**To the story!**

(Maddy's P.O.V)

"How could you not tell me that you were a country?" Brittany suddenly asked, glaring at Arthur and crossing her arms.

He blinked and looked away from her. "I- I didn't... you..."

She shook her head, then got up and ran outside. I scowled and got up, running after her. "Brittany!"

I got outside just in time to see her trip over a rock and faceplant against the concrete. Concern took over. I didn't remember running over, but the next thing I knew, I was next to Brittany and helping her up. "Are you ok?" I asked worriedly.

She nodded and rubbed her forehead. "I'm fine... I think."

"Do you want to talk to a doctor?"

She shook her head. "I'm fine."

"Alright..." I said slowly. Walking back into her house, we went up the stairs and I helped her lay down. Waiting until she'd gone to sleep, I walked back downstairs and stared at the men on the couch through narrowed eyes.

"Out." I said after a minute, pointing toward the door.

They all gaped at me, then asked in unison, "What?"

"Out." I repeated. "Brittany's asleep and I don't think she wants to talk to any of you. Honestly, _I'm _not sure I want to talk to any of you either."

"But-" Arthur started, but I cut him off.

"I don't think you get it, Arthur. Do you have any idea how betrayed it makes you feel when you find out the only person you ever really trusted has been keeping a secret from you your entire life?" I crossed my arms and glared at him. "Personally, I'm not in the mood to talk to any of you and I doubt that Brittany is."

"But, dudette, it's not even your house. You can't make us leave. And it wouldn't be fair for you to make us leave if you stay." Alfred said.

I glared at him. "Well I don't really care what you think is fair or not Alfred." I pointed to the front door again. "As I've already said, you're not welcome at the moment, so I suggest you leave."

I assumed they got the message this time, since they got up and walked out the door. Closing the door, I called Brittany's mom. The dial tone set me a little on edge, but I took a deep breath and slowly let it out to calm down.

"Hello?"

Despite the fact that she couldn't see me, I smiled. "Hi Ms. Brady."

"Hello Maddy. How are you?"

"I'm ok. How are you?"

"I'm good."

"That's good," I replied. "Um, so, I understand that you're probably busy, but I just wanted to let you know that Brittany was running and she tripped over a rock and hit her head pretty hard."

"That's.. not good."

"Yeah, she said she felt fine and that she didn't want to see a doctor, so I made her lie down. She went to sleep about five minutes ago and I just wanted to let you know in case something bad happened."

"Well, thank you for letting me know."

"You're welcome. I'll let you get back to work now. Goodbye Ms. Brady."

"Goodbye Maddy. Have a nice day."

"You too." I hung up and sighed. Looking around, I grabbed all my stuff and put it in a pile at the foot of the couch. I didn't think it'd be a good idea for me to go home, so I sat on the couch and started going through the music on my phone. Shoving my headphones in my ears I sighed and started the first song I saw.

Unlike every other time I listened to music, it didn't make me feel better. I still felt betrayed that Matthew hadn't told me he was a country, though I supposed I could sort of understand why he hadn't.

I checked the time and laid down, deciding that it wasn't too late in the afternoon for a nap.

I set my phone on the armrest and placed a pillow over my head, closing my eyes. When I opened them again, it was completely dark and silent and a blanket had been put on me. I grabbed my phone, swiping at the screen a few times to turn it on so I could check the time.

_2 in the morning...? How long have I been asleep? And how did I stay asleep this long? _

I sat up and yawned. Grabbing my computer, I opened it and found my story, silently determining that this was as good a time as any to write, considering I probably wouldn't be able to get back to sleep for a while. If I was able to at all.

After a few minutes, I put my computer away, deciding that a better thing to do would be to check on Brittany.

I crept up the stairs, trying hard not to make any noise that could wake her mother or younger brother up. I gently pushed Brittany's door open and walked over to her bed. "Brittany?" I whispered. I didn't expect her to respond, but I had a tendency to talk to people while they were sleeping to make sure they were ok.

I took a step forward, but ended up tripping like the graceful person I was and caught myself with by putting my hand on Brittany's pillow. The moment my hand touched the pillow, I jerked it back, partly out of the fear of waking her up and partly because her pillow was soaking wet.

I stared at my hand in horror, then looked at Brittany's pillow again to make sure I was seeing everything correctly. My heart began beating rapidly and I repressed the urge to scream.

Because Brittany's pillow was covered in blood.

_I need to call someone!_

I fumbled in my pocket for my phone, unlocked it and typed in the first number that came to mind. It started ringing.

"Hello?" a sleepy voice said.

"Matthew, I need your help." I whimpered, a lump starting to form in my throat.

"What's wrong?" he asked, suddenly sounding more awake.

"It's Brittany. Her head, i-it's bleeding and she won't wake up." I choked out, tears beginning to well up in my eyes.

"Ok, did you call 911?"

"Well... n-no, not yet."

"Alright, call 911 and I'll be over there in ten minutes."

"Ok." the call ended and I dialed 911 as quickly as my shaking hands would allow.

"911, what is your emergency?" a feminine voice asked calmly.

"It's my friend," I said instantly. "Her head is bleeding a lot and she won't wake up."

"Ok, ma'am, I've sent an ambulance to your location."

Before I could say anything, she hung up. I put my phone in my pocket and began pacing back and forth across Brittany's room. I checked my phone, wondering why ten minutes seemed to be passing so slowly.

Turning around, I made another trek across the room, chewing my lip the entire way. _Come on Matthew, you said ten minutes. It feels like it's been hours!_

I felt a hand touch my shoulder and nearly screamed, fear shooting up my spine. I turned, saw that it was Matthew and almost cried. Instead I threw my arms around him and tried not to sob uncontrollably like I wanted to.

It wasn't until I heard someone swear that I realized he hadn't come alone. I let go of Matthew and looked questioningly at Arthur. "Um..."

There was a knock at the door and I ran down the stairs to let them in. Two guys holding a stretcher came in and went up the stairs, soon returning with Brittany on the stretcher. I gulped, my heart racing.

"We should get to the hospital." Arthur said, moving towards his car. He got in and started it, then sent the rest of us an annoyed and impatient look.

We all piled in and followed the ambulance, an uncomfortable silence filling the car. Arthur pulled into the parking lot and we all tumbled out. I ran toward the front door, worry and anxiety making me jumpy and impatient.

The doctors forced us to stay in the waiting room, which only made Arthur and I more worried and irritated me to the point that I considered sneaking behind the counter. After a while, I got tired of pacing and sat in one of the uncomfortable chairs. I let my head loll to the side and looked at Matthew through half closed eyes. "Tell me again why _all four _of you are here."

Matthew cleared his throat. "Well, because I was so quiet as a kid, Francis became a _really _light sleeper and when I say that, I mean that even a passing shadow would wake him up. So I woke him up after talking to you and told him what had happened, but he ran into the coffee table and that woke Arthur up. He of course got mad because it was 2 in the morning, but when we told him that Brittany was hurt, he started yelling, which woke Alfred up, so we all decided to come."

"And here we are." I finished.

He nodded. "And here we are."

About an hour later the doctor came out, his face grim. My stomach immediately soured and I stood, walking across the room to meet him halfway. The others followed me.

The doctor didn't seem comfortable, but looked up and took a deep breath. "You can go see her now."

That was all I heard. I didn't listen the rest, I pushed past him and ran down the hall towards Brittany's room. I skidded to a stop in front of the door and looked at her. Bandages were wrapped around her head and her eyes were a bit glazed over, but she was sitting up and looking around the room.

I slowly walked in as the 'men' began to trickle in and sat in a chair next to her bed.

"Brittany?" Arthur started hesitantly. "Are you ok? Do you feel better?"

She sent him a confused look, but nodded and looked at her hands.

"I'm so glad you're ok." I said, silently wondering why she'd looked at Arthur like she didn't even know him. And why that look had been turned on me.

She smiled, but it seemed a little forced. "That's great, but..."

We all tensed as she finished her question.

"Who are you?"


	27. It's ok to cry

**Please don't kill me if any of the characters seem OOC in this chapter. I did the best I could. Also, I'm sorry this chapter took so long. I have finals coming up soon and I've been really worried about those and I've had a lot of school work to do. To the reviews!**

**The Monster inside of Me: Yeah, Fruits Basket! It's a good anime, I like it. *throws cupcakes at you* I actually have this Fruits Basket fanfic that I'm writing with some friends and I want to post because I think it's good, but they're not comfortable with that idea.**

**Ariaprincess: Thanks, but it's not that great. *sets doughnuts down and slides them over* **

**To the story!**

(Francis' P.O.V)

The room went utterly silent. We all stared at Brittany in shock. After about a minute, the silence was broken by the sound of the chair legs scraping against the ground as Maddy pushed it away from the bed, turned and walked out of the room.

Arthur and Matthew both followed her, though I knew they each had their own reason. I walked out just in time to see Maddy glare at Matthew and snarl "My best friend just asked me who I am, how do you think I feel?" She turned around and stormed away.

I walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "You should go 'elp her."

"She doesn't _want _my help." he replied, looking up at me with sorrowful eyes.

"_Oui,_ that is true, but she needs it, whether she wants to admit it or not. And I don't think she's really mad at you. She's just upset."

He looked away, then nodded and ran after her. I smiled slightly, then turned my attention to Arthur, who was standing by the wall, his fists clenched at his sides. "Angleterre?"

He sniffed quietly. "Go away frog."

"_Non,_ not until you admit that you're upset."

"I'm fine!" he snapped, finally looking away from the floor, even though it was only to glare at me.

I shook my head. "No you're not. And until you admit that, we're going to go outside, get in the car and go for a drive."

"I'm not going anywhere with you." he muttered, crossing his arms and turning away from me.

I raised an eyebrow at him, then stepped forward and grabbed him by the back of his collar and began dragging him outside.

"Oi! What are you doing? Let go of me, frog!"

"Not until you admit that you're upset."

"I'm not upset!" he yelled as we left the hospital. People began staring as he continued to thrash and try to get his shirt out of my grip.

We eventually made it to the car, got in and drove away from the bland hospital. The car was silent. After a minute, I reached over and turned the radio on. Arthur scowled at me, then turned the radio off and turned back to the window, resuming his sulking.

Cue more heavy, awkward silence.

I sighed. "It's ok to cry, you know."

He turned and glared at me. "What?"

"I said, that it's ok to cry."

"I don't need to cry, I'm not upset!"

"Liar." I muttered.

"Bloody frog! Where are we going!? We need to go back to the hospital! What if she-" Arthur faltered. I took my eyes off of the road for two seconds to stare at him. He refused eye contact but the look in his face said that he couldn't handle being there.

"I'm doing this for your sake Angleterre." I sighed. "I've known you long enough to know your weaknesses and this is one of them. This is what I warned you about when you decided to get attached to the girl."

"What the bloody hell do you know?! Don't you think that you're better than me at this! Remember Joan of Arc!? You left her to die! You don't know what it means to love! How could you ever love anyone if you're always after ladies -not caring for a single one of them in the morning!" He snapped. "You don't know what it feels like. You don't know...you don't know me, you don't know her...bloody hell! Take me back!"

I parked the car and slapped him.

At first he looked shocked, then he looked angry and his face slowly began to turn even redder than it already was from me slapping him.

"Angleterre..." I began quietly. "It's ok for you to cry."

Soon the car filled with the sound of Arthur sobbing.


	28. life problems

**I'm really sorry this took so long. I just started finals and stories have not been my top priority. To the reviews!**

**pinkittwice54: Nope. I just wanted to get the chapter done. *throws cake at you***

**ThatCrazyItalien: *smiles nervously* oops... *throws ice cream at you***

**Just obsessed: That seems to be a lot of the chapters lately. *throws brownies at you***

**To the story!**

(Maddy's P.O.V)

"_Brittany, can we talk?"_

"_I don't know who you are."_

I was in the shower. I felt the hot water run down my back, brushing into my face at times. My blonde hair was wet and instead of slicking it back to keep it out of my eyes like I normally did, I just let it fall and cover my eyes.

They were closed anyway. I didn't want to see, or hear or breath for that matter. Not anymore. Not after what had happened.

I felt the water get slightly cooler, signaling that I had been in for too long. But I ignored it. Maybe I would get pneumonia and die. That'd be good news for me.

Maybe Brittany would be better off without me trying to reinsert myself back into her life.

The water got progressively colder, so I turned the knob to where the water shut off, completely. I got out, quickly, not one foot at a time like I usually do. I was kind of hoping for my feet to slip on the watery rim of the bathtub, and me fall and hit my head. I'd maybe survive, but I'd be injured. Badly. And that's the way I felt anyway, so I didn't really care.

After, drying and putting on my clothes lazily, I slumped to my living room. I didn't really care about anything, I'd found.

I basically fell into my chair and a tear started to fall. I wanted to wipe it, always telling myself, and having heard it for years from my mother, "Tears are for the weak."

But, I didn't wipe it away, like it was nothing. It was something. Also, nobody was there to see me cry.

_My best friend doesn't even remember who I am._

_What am I supposed to do now? She's the only person I talk to anymore._

Mechanically, I reached up and grabbed a tissue, blowing my nose. I flinched as I did and threw the tissue at my door. Even the almost inaudible _thunk _seemed too loud.

_I'm dreaming. _I thought numbly.

As the thought crossed my mind, I sat up and checked my phone, waiting for Brittany to text me and ask if I wanted to hang out.

I waited for what felt like an hour, then sighed and laid back down.

_Wake up._

More tears spilled down my face and I grit my teeth so hard, they started to hurt.

_Wake up._

_This is why getting emotionally invested in people is a bad idea._

I wiped the tears off my face and sat up. I'd never really agreed when people said that to me, but lately it seemed like they were right.

My phone binged at me and I grabbed it, expecting it to be my mom telling me to come outside and help her with the groceries. Or my stepdad asking me if I wanted to go to the school he was working at with him the next day.

It wasn't either of them.

_Can we talk?_

I didn't bother questioning why Brittany would be texting a person she didn't know. I just jumped up, shoved my feet into a pair of shoes and ran out the door. Eventually I slowed down, realizing that I'd probably get hit by a car if I didn't actually pay attention to where I was going.

Of course, it was _because_ I slowed down that I ended up crashing into someone. I heard a thud as we both dropped what was in our hands. I watched my phone slip and crash to the ground, the screen going dark.

For some reason, that set me off. I scowled and looked up from the ground to glare at the person I'd run into. "What the hell were you- Matthew?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Hey. I was actually just coming to check on you."

I picked up my phone, then stared at him. "Uh... why?"

He looked at me like I was a child that had just asked a really stupid, really obvious question. Which, knowing me, I had. "Because for the past three weeks, you've been all sullen and moody and you don't talk to anyone at school anymore."

"Damn it Matthew." I muttered, resuming my walk to Brittany's.

He fell into step next to me. "What?"

"How am I supposed to lie and pretend everything's ok if you're always going to be able to tell that it's not?"

He silent for a long time, clearly trying to come up with a good response. "Not.. lie and pretend everything's ok? If people ask you if you're ok, they're obviously worried about you."

"What am I supposed to tell them?" I snapped. "That even my imaginary friend left me _seven years ago,_ I'm still upset about it because I felt like he was the only one who ever _really_ cared about me?"

Matthew stared at me, his perplexed face turning slightly pink.

Then I realized what I'd said. "I mean..." I blushed and looked away from him. I hadn't meant to tell him that. I hadn't meant to at all.

He cleared his throat. "So where are you running off to? I think this is the first time I've seen you outside on a saturday in... a while."

"Brittany texted me." I replied, brushing some dirt off my phone and showing him the text.

He looked at me worriedly. "Why would she text a person she doesn't remember?"

"I... don't know." I said slowly. "But if she texted me, that's a good thing, right?"

"I don't know, it might be someone trying to kidnap the two of you."

I rolled my eyes. My mood seemed to be getting progressively worse, despite the fact that my best friend had texted me, which in _my_ head was a good thing. "Yes Matthew, a kidnapper just _happened_ to figure out that my best friend has amnesia and is using her as bait to kidnap the two of us."

"I'm just saying, it's a possibility." He said. "She hasn't talked to you for the past three weeks because she has no idea who you are."

I sighed in annoyance. "Why can't you just be happy about this? Is it really so hard to believe that she got her memory back?"

"I'm just trying to make sure you don't get hurt."

I scoffed. "Really? Well, you're failing pretty badly at that. You've been lying to me since I was little."

He slowed and stared at me. "What?"

"Don't play dumb!" I snapped. "You know exactly what I'm talking about! You told me when I was little that you wouldn't leave, but then you did. You told me that I'd forget you, but I never did."

"You not forgetting wasn't my fault." He replied, in a voice that told me he was trying not to start yelling. "And I told you that I _had_ to leave. I didn't have a choice!"

"Except that you did!" I growled, crossing my arms. "Did you just decide one day that you needed to start being a country again instead of some little girl's imaginary friend?"

"Being a country has nothing to do with this."

"Yes it does!" I stomped toward the edge of the sidewalk and took a step forward, only to be pulled back as a car zoomed by, the wind blowing my hair back. I swatted at Matthew, knowing he was the one holding on to me.

"I can't believe you!" He said, once we'd gotten across the street and were close to Brittany's. "You're not even trying to be safe anymore! Do I have to be around all the time for you to actually care about your life?"

I stopped and took a deep breath, trying not to scream. "If I annoy you that much, why don't you just leave?" I said quietly.

Matthew froze and turned to look at me. "What?"

"You heard me." I growled, pushing past him and toward Brittany's door. She was standing in the doorway, staring at us. She must have seen us walking up. I stopped and turned to Matthew. "If you're going to leave, could you make sure I actually forget about you this time?"

He stared at me, his eyes filled with hurt.

I walked over to Brittany and went inside.

"Who was that?" She asked.

"Nobody important." I replied, shutting the door.


	29. maybe we should

**Winter break is here. Hopefully, I'll be able to update more often. To the reviews!**

**The Monster inside of Me: Crap, we've provoked the wrath of the british. *throws doughnuts at you and runs***

**To the story!**

(Matthew's P.O.V)

"She said what!?"

I looked up at Alfred and sighed again. "She told me that if I was going to leave, then I should make sure she actually forgot about me this time."

"And you're not at all upset by this?" he asked.

"She's just upset about Brittany." I replied.

"That doesn't give her the right to yell at you!" he snapped.

"I wouldn't worry about it, she's always been like this."

"A brat who yells at you for no reason?" Alfred asked.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "That- that's not what I meant Al. And she's not a brat."

"Well then what _did_ you mean?"

"I meant that she's always taken her anger out on the closet person because she doesn't like seeming vulnerable."

He sent me a perplexed look. "You mean, she's _always_ yelled at you for no reason? I can't believe you stuck around then."

"You know what? Never mind." I muttered, getting up and walking over to Arthur. He looked at me. "Maybe it'd be better if we left. I mean, we've caused so much trouble for the girls since we got here.."

"Maybe." he replied, clenching his hands into fists at his sides.

Suddenly, there was a surprised scream from outside. Laughter floated in that was abruptly cut off by another scream and we both rushed to the window.

"Speak of the devil..." Arthur muttered.

The girls were sitting in snow banks and laughing uncontrollably.

"Are you ok?" Maddy asked.

Brittany was laughing too hard to respond. Tears started dripping down her cheeks and she looked like she was having a hard time breathing.

"Brittany! No dying! Breath damn it!"

"Maybe we should leave." I muttered.

Arthur sighed and looked at me. "I think it would be best if we-" he stopped, as if what he was about to say hurt.

I put a hand on his shoulder, silently willing him to continue, though I had a feeling I knew what he was going to say.

"I think it would be best if we erased their memories and left."

**I'm sorry this chapter is so short, but I'm seriously losing motivation to write this story. **


	30. painful goodbyes

**No reviews. This is the last chapter... Just figured I'd say that now so I don't get killed later for not saying something.**

**Anyways...**

**To the story!**

(Matthew's P.O.V)

Arthur got up and walks towards the door. I looked at him in confusion. "Where are you going..?"

He sent me a quick glance over his shoulder. "I know what to do to make them forget."

My eyes widened and I got up, almost tripping as I went after him. "What? What do you mean?"

He smiled sadly. "I'm going to invite them over for tea."

I stopped. _What does tea have to do with this? Unless..._

"You're going to put some sort of spell or potion in it, aren't you?"

"What else?"

He opened the door and walked down the driveway, his shoulders slightly bowed. I scrambled after him, my foot slipping on some ice. The girls looked up, falling silent as we got closer.

"Would you like to come over for tea?"

The girls exchanged perplexed looks, then shrugged. "Ok."

They got up and followed us back to the house and sat on the couch. After asking what kind of tea the girls wanted, Arthur went to the kitchen to prepare it. I sat in a chair and stared at my lap as everyone went silent. The silence was growing more awkward, but no one seemed willing to start a conversation.

"Can I use your bathroom?" Brittany asked.

Alfred jumped up. "I'll show you where it is!" he ran out of the room, dragging Brittany behind him.

This just made sitting there silently even more awkward. I fidgeted with the hem of my shirt, then looked up at the blond across the room. "Do you remember when you were little and wanted to grow up to be a dragon?"

Maddy blushed and buried her face in her hands. "Yes.." she mumbled.

I smiled slightly. "You were so heartbroken when I told you that you couldn't be a dragon."

Before she could reply, Alfred burst into the room, still dragging Brittany with him. She kept trying to get her arm out of his grasp and failing, but slumped in defeat as he led her to the couch.

"Am I the only one who thinks penguins are adorable?" Brittany mumbled after a few minutes.

"No." I replied.

Both Alfred and Maddy gasped. "That reminds me!" she said, then began frantically searching through her phone.

Brittany sighed. "Only I would say something about penguins that would remind you about something else." The brunette began to chat with Alfred about penguins.

I pat Kuma while watching the trio, wondering why penguins had caused such a response.

"Damn!" Maddy said, putting her phone down. "I don't have the video."

"Maddy!" Brittany said loudly.

"What?"

"Swear jar."

The blond sighed and dug a bill out of her pocket, handing it to Brittany, who stared at it then at her friend.

"You were just carrying a ten dollar bill in your pocket?"

"Yup, I'm a great target for muggers, aren't I?"

"Please don't say that." I muttered.

"Sorry Matthew."

"What video don't you have dudette?" Alfred asked.

"Hm?" Maddy looked confused for a minute, then chewed her lip. "Oh, my aunt showed me a video of penguin mating rituals."

"Penguin mating rituals?" I repeated.

She nodded. "Yeah, in the video this male penguin walked up to a female and they bowed to each other two times." she began making hand motions to help tell her story. "And then, the male got this really big rock out of the ice and put it at her feet -and it was a _really_ big rock, but then she looked at it for a minute and turned her head away from him. He looked so heartbroken for a minute, but then he gave up and walked away."

Alfred started crying.

Both girls stared at him. "Are you ok?"

He sniffed. "I know _exactly_ how that penguin feels. Women are cruel."

"Excuse me?"

I got up to go check on Arthur, walking into the kitchen. I found him with two cups of tea on the counter. He stood there, his hands planted firmly on the counter. His face showed all the emotions he refused to show in public, but mostly just the sadness.

"What are you doing?" I asked. "The tea's going to get cold and then the spell might not work."

Honestly though, I'd rather it didn't work.

"Just listening." he replied. "Probably never going to be able to see her again.."

I opened my mouth to answer, but was cut off by yelling coming from the living room.

"Dudette, that sneeze was so adorable! You sounded like a kitten." Alfred said loudly.

"Do not call me cute!" Maddy yelled back.

"He didn't.." Brittany said.

"She's right dudette, I called you adorable."

"Whatever, don't call me that either! I am not adorable or cute or sweet! Don't call me that! I am evil! I am the shadows in the night!"

I chuckled and walked back into the living room.

"Fear me." Maddy muttered crossing her arms.

Arthur followed me and handed the girls the tea, his eyes glittering with unshed tears. "Here girls. Sorry it took so long."

"It's ok." they replied in unison.

Arthur looked away, trying not to cry. I blinked rapidly, hoping that would be enough to hold the tears I could feel welling up at bay.

_Don't cry. This is for the best._

No matter how many times I repeated that in my head, it didn't make me feel any better.

They both drank the tea without question, but made faces as they did. I assumed the flavor seemed weird to them.

The girls set their cups on the table. They blinked a few times then shivered violently and fell over. Alfred freaked out.

"Arthur!" he yelled, jumping up and checking for pulses.

"Calm down," Arthur muttered. "This was supposed to happen. I'm sure they'll be up in a few minutes."

Alfred wasn't so easily persuaded. He continuously checked to make sure the girls hadn't died and wouldn't calm down at all.

A few minutes later, both girls sat up and looked around in confusion.

"Where are we?"

"Who are you?" Brittany asked Arthur as he went up to her.

He flinched. "I'm Arthur. I'm going to take you home, ok?"

She looked him up and down, then shrugged. "Ok. You seem ok." She got up and followed him out of the house.

I turned to Maddy, who was scowling in annoyance. "Will Brittany be ok?"

"She'll be fine. Arthur won't hurt her." I replied, taking a steps toward her.

She looked at me, then said three words I hoped I'd never hear her ask again. "Who are you?"

My heart broke, but I forced a smile. "I'm Matthew. I'm going to take you home."

She gave me a skeptical look. "How do I know you're not lying?"

"I'm not going to hurt you."

"Alright..."

She got up and followed me to the door. I led her home and made sure she was safely inside before leaving. I walked down the sidewalk a few stops then turned and looked at the door.

I blinked and tried not to cry again. "Be safe." I said softly, then turned and walked away.

**END**


	31. epilogue

**To the reviews!**

**Guest: No, no dying! I'm sorry I killed you with feels. *throws cake at you* And yes, fandoms probably will kill you. They're not very forgiving.**

(Maddy's P.O.V)

**5 years later**

"Shouldn't you be doing your psychology homework?" Brittany asked, poking my forehead and sitting on the couch.

"Says the queen of procrastination." I replied, looking up at her from my computer screen. I paused the video I was watching, changed the tab I was on and smirked at her. "So when is that project due?"

"Shut up." she said, flicking my forehead.

I laughed, rubbing my forehead and went back to my computer. "You know, if you keep poking and flicking my forehead like that, there's going to be a mark."

She ignored my semi-lecture and looked at my screen. "Why are you looking up orphanages?"

"I want to adopt a child, remember?"

"Right... wait you want to adopt right now?"

"No, not right now. In a few years."

She stayed silent, her top lip completely covering her bottom one. I closed my computer and looked up at her. "We should go do something."

"Ok."

We got our shoes on and left the house, falling into mostly quiet conversation that would occasionally become loud bursts of laughter.

"Hey, what if the kid you adopt is allergic to cats?" Brittany asked, running a hand through her hair.

I slowed and thought that over. "I'm sure the adoption center would tell me before if they were."

"But what if they were?"

I swallowed. "I wouldn't let that be a deciding factor in whether or not I adopted them. Sure, at first it would hurt, but if I had to get rid of the cats, I would."

"Wow."

We were silent again.

"I wanna move to England." I said quietly. "It's always dark and rainy and it hardly ever snows."

"I would not survive there." Brittany muttered.

"I would." I replied, taking a few steps in front of her and turning around to face her.

"Well, I know you would, but I don't like the rain. Not everyday anyway. Besides, I thought you wanted to move to Canada."

"I can't decide which one to move to.."

I turned to walk normally, just in time to crash into someone.

"Careful!" a voice said, hands grabbing my shoulders to keep me from falling.

I steadied myself and squirmed out of the unknown person's grasp, half convinced this was a carefully planned out kidnapping plot. "I'm sorry I ran into you." I mumbled, looking up and seeing a guy with blond hair and purple eyes staring at me.

An older looking male with blond hair, green eyes and crazy eyebrows was staring at Brittany.

"It's ok..." the first one said slowly. He continued to stare.

I cleared my throat and took a few steps back, grabbing Brittany's arm and dragging her along with me.

He cleared his throat as well. "S-sorry, you just... look like someone I used to know."

The two turned and walked away quickly. I watched them disappear around a corner and looked at Brittany. "Did you feel like you've seen them before?"

She nodded. "Like I saw them in a dream or something."

I shivered. "Yeah... in a dream."


End file.
